In a Hundred Lifetimes
by IHaveADogShesNeato
Summary: Its been 6 years since the jewel was wished away and Kagome still hasn't been able to return to the past. One day she is suddenly pulled back to the feudal era and finds much has changed: an all-out war between humans and demons, Inuyasha is a king with a dark secret, and something isn't quite right about the era Kagome arrived in. Fresh cannon plot inside!
1. Chapter 1

Hello! Thanks for looking past my awful summary and deciding to stop on in! This story is a fresh cannon-ish twist on "what would it have been like if...?". It'll have mystery, action, love, death, sadness, happiness, and TONS of suspense. My goal is to leave you at the edge of your seat and keep you guessing about what happens next. I'm completely open to constructive criticisms and even suggestions as the story progresses. **Please, please please favorite, follow, and review!** Let me know what you like and don't like!

Note: Bear with me, I know this chapter is extremely short. Each chapter I post will be longer than the last.

Picture art by Cati-art on deviant art. Here is the picture in better resolution on the artist's page: **cati-art. deviant art art/Commission-Daiyoukai-Inuyasha-320539486** (remove the spaces and add ".com" between the two back-to-back 'arts')

I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters in the anime/manga

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 _"So often we villainize our monsters,_

 _our ghosts;_

 _but without their cold breaths pouring down our necks,_

 _we'd never find our way back home"_

 _– Kaitlin Foster_

Chapter 1

 **Pat. Pat. Pat. Pat.**

Her foot steps were the only sound on the concrete as she walked down the eerily quiet familiar road.

 **Pat. Pat. Pat. Pat.**

The red shrine arch stood proudly in the distance, creating a stark contrast to the dark slate grey storm clouds that loomed overhead.

 **Pat. Pat. Pat. Pat.**

Deadened brown leaves whipped themselves near her ankles as a breeze picked up. This was time of year that autumn began packing its bags to make way for her sister winter. Snow would be cloaking the naked trees within the next few weeks.

 **Pat. Pat.**

She stopped and dared herself to look up.

 _Three. Two. One._

Her eyes met the cluster of steps that led up to the Higurashi shrine - at least what was the Higurashi shrine. The red temple arch remained untouched. It stood tall. Wide. _Welcoming_.

She took her time surveying the entrance to the shrine when a car passed by. On such a quiet street it may have been considered minimally noisy, but while swimming deep in her own thoughts the car was deafening. Kagome jumped and turned to watch the car disappear out of sight. At this angle the wind whipped her untamed hair into her face, obstructing her view, and she turned back to the stairs. She began the arduous task of dragging each foot up the stairs – each individual toe feeling as if it were balancing more and more weight with each step she took.  
Why was she here? She didn't need to be here. What was she planning on accomplishing? There was nothing left to see. This was a wasted trip and wasted time.

 _Stop it, Kagome._

She knew why she was here. She had felt it tingling at her finger tips during the past few weeks. Drumming in her ears for the last few days. Sitting like a weight at the pit of her stomach today. Tugging at the fringes of her soul this very moment. She was being _beckoned_ here.

But why here of all places?

She reached the top of the steps and her eyes fell upon the empty shell of what used to be a home; her home. The sliding glass doors, along with all of the windows, were busted out. Framing the door were streaky, sooty remnants of the blast. To Kagome the soot created a shape that looked much more like an ashy demon that had an iron grip on the walls of her home, trying to claw its way out the front door. Bits of glass and rubble hid among the overgrown, mangled grass and weeds inhabiting the property. She took calculated, measured steps until she stood at the frame of the door. She didn't expect anything pretty, but the decimated carcass of your childhood home is still a shocking sight to see. The floors and walls were ripped apart and charred blacker than the night sky. Everyday housing items remained on the floor now as indistinct debris. Some graffiti clung to the walls, no doubt a gift from the reckless youth that dared to venture this far onto the abandoned Higurashi property. The second floor had fallen through and her bedroom floor was colliding with the kitchen floor, the support beams penetrating the first level floor boards.

She had been told that is where her mother died, when the structure of the home collapsed and she had been in the wrong spot at the wrong moment. The home that her mother spent 18 years creating memories in had been what ultimately killed her. She had been following Souta, who was running out the front door. Unfortunately, opening the door had caused oxygen to feed the fire that was eating the Higuarashi home. Opening that front door had caused a massive explosion that led to his untimely death. Luckily, grandpa had passed only half a year before in his sleep, therefore spared from the grisly deaths her dear mother and baby brother had faced. _Her home_.

She had been away at college when this happened. In fact, she had received a call from the police chief during one of her lectures and felt a strange inclination to go out into the hall to answer the phone call. Some say her scream and hysterical sobs could be heard 10 floors up. A few students say they saw her run out of the building, stumbling over her own two feet. She had worked herself into such a frenzy that she ran into a busy street and caused a few small wrecks, perhaps to catch the next bus home. Gossips talk about how she was apprehended by security and taken to a near-by hospital as she deliriously wretched and sobbed the whole way there.  
None of them were wrong.

Kagome had pieced and taped herself back together in time to attend the funeral. It was small and private, just a few close family and friends, closed-casket. She coped by drowned herself in school work and sleep and did little else. She had everything stripped away from her by the tender age of 18; no family, no friends, no feudal era.

After completing the Shikon jewel, she found herself stuck on the present day side of the well. The last thing she saw was Inuyasha dissipating into thin air. After the funeral she had ran all the way home and flung herself into the well – a desperate and futile attempt to return to happier times. It was several hours before anyone had found her at the bottom of the well with a broken arm, 2 fractured wrists, and a nasty concussion.

3 years since the funeral had passed and here she was standing in front of the tree of ages. 506 years later, the imprint Inuyasha had left on the sacred tree was still clear as day. Her finger twitched by her side as she desired to reach out and touch it, but she decided against it. Rather, her eyes fell to the base of the tree where some wild white lilies and lilacs were growing. She slowly crouched down and wrapped her arms around her knees, burying her jaw into the crook of her arm. A particularly bitter wind blew straight through Kagome's jacket and caused her to slightly shiver. It had been a long time since she had visited Souta, mama, and grandpa's graves.

Kagome reached out and tentatively broke the stalks of a few flowers for each resting family member. A few white and purple flowers for Souta and grandpa, but more purple flowers for mama - Kagome knew she'd like that.

Kagome stood up as a strong wind blew her hard enough to cause a few flowers to slip from her grasp. She looked up at the tree of ages and listened to the branches creak and groan as the wind rushed through the long branches. She followed the direction of the leaves carried by the wind and her gaze settled on the well house - her flowers lay littered on the path toward the stand-alone building. Kagome ignored her freshly picked wild flowers on the ground and suddenly entranced she walked toward the well house. She had no control of her feet and felt the sensation deep in her bones of being pulled toward the wooden door. The wind was now roaring in her ears and thrashing her hair about in a fury. She grasped the worn iron handle of the door and found that it still easily slid open and closed behind her like it had been yesterday she was diving into the well with Inuyasha in tow.

She carefully descended the steps, her lax hand discarding the wild flowers she had forgotten she was even holding. The weights on her feet had been lifted and she almost felt as if she were moving through air that was too thin. In fact, the air was suddenly very thin. She struggled to fill her lungs, but made no attempt to gasp for the oxygen she needed. She stood at the lip of the well and a hazy fog consumed her. Kagome sensed her lungs burning. The wind outside the well house door was howling. She felt like she was floating but also felt at ease not doing a thing about it. Suddenly, darkness consumed her and Kagome, once again, fell into the well.

Outside, it was silent and still - not a leaf or blade of grass had been disturbed. Down the road, an old man and woman sat watching a woman on the news give the daily weather forecast.

 _"Today, you may wear a light jacket, as it is surprisingly windless and only mildly chilly here in our lovely city..."_

The old man turned to his wife,

"I can't help but feel the strangest sense that something is happening at the old Higurashi shrine".

The old wife scoffed, "You know as well as I that no one has been near that shrine in 3 years. Shrines are supposed to bring good luck, and nobody wants to inhabit a shrine that has witnessed the deaths of all its dwellers. It will stand there until the weight of time crumbles it to a dust, dear."

The man rose from his chair and peered out the window at the shrine. Everything was still and untouched.

"All of its dwellers, except one," He mumbled to himself, "I wonder what ever happened to that Higurashi daughter."

At the base of the well lay an abandoned bouquet of wild flowers.

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And that's a wrap! I had cold chills picturing the wind scene as Kagome walked toward the well house and knowing the wind was only surrounding her, but non existent outside of that small space around the Higurashi shrine. You might have struggled trying to picture what I was attempting to describe. This may seem like a short chapter (maybe?) but it was appropriate to stop here. Thanks! See you next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

Alright so I know I just uploaded the first chapter of this story today but I just decided to sit down and crunch out another chapter 2 hours later? This one is about 2 pages longer than the first chapter. I think I'll end up just making each chapter longer and longer and longer because everyone likes long chapters, right? Please leave reviews and give me any thoughts you have! Is it interesting? Boring? Intriguing? Too wordy? Let me know! It's been many, many years since I've taken a creative writing class. Also, I love intro-ing a story with quotes so you'll be seeing that a lot. Thanks!

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" _Sometimes I miss you in July_

 _when it's hot and lightening rips along our tongues,_

 _as thunder roars against our bodies._

 _Sometimes I think of you when I am drinking my tea_

 _as it is getting cold_

 _and the day isn't even half over." - Unknown_

Chapter 2

An unpleasant stream of light forced Kagome to open her eyes and squint above her at the mouth of the well. She was standing on the dirt floor of the well with no broken bones or concussions. _She had made it_. Well, either that or she was dead. She lifted her hands from her sides and inspected them only to find that she was trembling uncontrollably. After 6 years of being stuck on her side of the well somehow Kagome had been able to come back to the feudal era. How or why, she didn't know or bother ruining her luck by questioning the universe. She could see her friends again, her dearest friends. _Sango. Miroku. Shippo. Kirara. Inuyasha._ She suddenly felt overwhelming joy and relief bubbling within her stomach but she choked it down. She had to know that this was real. One single ray of sunlight was all that pierced the darkness at the bottom of the well. It seemed like the rest of the opening had been… blocked off? Surely her friends hadn't blocked off the well and given up on all hope of her return.

Kagome clumsily felt around the wall in front of her until she found the slight grooves in the stone that she had used in the past as footholds to scale up the well. The divots in the rough stone had been smoothed over and were not nearly as pronounced as they had been before. She struggled to get a good enough grip to even remove her feet from the ground.

Halfway up, sweat already beading on her brow, she admitted to herself, "This is going to be tough". She grunted as her left foot slipped causing her to use all of her arm strength to hold herself to avoid falling. Oh, the cramps that she could already feel slithering around and constricting her muscles. Nevertheless, she persisted until her head bumped the covering of the well.

Thick, gnarly roots and over grown foliage covered the entrance to the well. Kagome reached her hand through the hole and grasped the lip of the wooden well while using her other hand to tear out some of the brush above her. Once she had created a space big enough to wiggle through, Kagome hoisted herself out of the dark hole.

 _I will definitely be sore later._

She rubbed her burning forearms therapeutically wishing that she had picked up rock climbing while away at University. The cool biting wind immediately soothed her heated arms and chilled the rest of her to the bone. She examined her outfit of choice today, jeans and a sweater paired with a black button down pea coat and lace up boots, silently thankful that she at least wasn't wearing that same school uniform. Although her clothing this day and age was better suited for the weather, it did little to protect against the bitter wind of this era.

Kagome glanced up and saw the tree of ages in the distance. She didn't need to reference the tree to know exactly where Kaede's village was, she knew the path by heart. Kagome set off down the hill to the small village that the old priestess watched over. Not much had changed in the 6 years that had gone by, only that maybe the forest surrounding her seemed slightly thinner.

" … and it's colder" she grumbled to herself as she wrapped her arms over her chest, burying her numbing fingers into her arm pits.

Kagome approached the well-trodden dirt path that led to the village and saw several people and carts in the distance headed in the same direction she was going. She had never seen so many people on this path at one time. Kagome picked up her pace and easily caught up with the nearest cart being pulled by a bored looking ox. Perched on the cart was an elderly man and woman, next to them a young man rode on a horse.

"Excuse me, are all of these people headed toward Kaede's village?" she questioned the man and woman on the cart. The elderly pair looked Kagome up and down, the woman gasped and the man apprehensively looked at the young man next to them. Kagome watched the man click at the horse making it speed ahead on the path, she then questioningly returned her gaze to the older man.

"Who might you be? And why is it any of your concern where we be headed?" asked the man warily. Other caravans of travelers noticed the strange looking young woman and took interest in the interaction at the cart, some sped up or slowed down to get closer in hopes of listening in.

"I didn't mean to be rude," Kagome apologized, "I was just wondering why so many people were headed to her village."

"I do not know of this _her_ you speak of, but this is a prosperous village and my wife, son, and I are seeking a better life here." The man informed her while nudging the backside of his ox urging it to move a little quicker. The ox groaned in response and barely sauntered faster.

Kagome picked up her pace, refusing to be brushed off so obviously, "Kaede, the old priestess in this village. My name is Kagome, I saved this village from the evil reign on Naraku only a few years ago."

The man met her eyes again and glowered at her suspiciously, his wife stifled a giggle, "I do not know of a priestess named Kaede, but this 'Naraku' you speak of is but a tale we older folks tell naïve children."

Kagome puffed out her chest indignantly, prepared to retort when the thundering sound of several sets of hooves came beating up the path from the direction of the village. Kagome stopped walking alongside the ox cart and watched 4 men in armor block Kagome from continuing down the road.

"You, woman," one of the men boomed at her, "where do you come from and why do you wear such strange clothes? Are you a demon?"

"I'm here looking for my friends, and I am not a demon. I'm Kagome, I used to come to this village and with my friends to see priestess Kaede." Kagome informed them, slightly annoyed that so many people had already forgotten who she was. It's not like she had saved all of their lives only a few years before. And since when did this small village have horsemen guards?

The men all looked at each other before a different man spoke up, "Kaede is no longer here," carefully choosing his words, "but her teachings remain principled for priestesses in-training."

"What about my friends, Sango, Miroku, or even Inuyasha?" Kagome inquired.

All four men froze atop their steeds.

"Did you say _Inuyasha_?" a different man anxiously asked, not sure he had heard right.

"Yes, Inuyasha, he and I traveled together to put all of the pieces of the Shikon jewel together." Kagome tapped her foot on the ground, impatiently waiting to get her answers.

Instantly the 4 men dismounted their horses and were upon her. She was forcefully thrown to the ground, causing a cloud of dirt to kick up and burn her eyes. She struggled to suck the air back in her lungs as she attempted to kick and protest.

"What are you doing?" she cried as she felt rope slip around her wrists and feet, "Inuyasha! Inuyasha!" she shouted, hoping that his enhanced hearing would pick up her calls.

Kagome was lifted by the rope that bound her wrists and was thrown onto the back of the largest horse, draped over its rump like she was a freshly caught kill about to be taken home for dinner. She tugged against her restraints, failing to make them budge as she yelled at her captors swearing to them that she was a descendent of Kikyo with spiritual powers – promising that they had made a mistake.

"A priestess you say?" sneered one of the men on a different horse, "Yet another lie."

"I am NOT lying," Kagome retorted boldly, "What makes you think that I'm lying?"

The man riding the horse she was draped over looked over his shoulder and spoke at her seriously, "No priestess would have any business with _Inuyasha_." He spit the name like it was poison.

Now utterly confused, Kagome was speechless. What were these men talking about? How did they not know who she was, the companion of Inuyasha that had saved all of Japan from the evil terrors of Naraku? She didn't mean to be full of herself, but this is not something one would easily forget.

The horses trotted down the dirt path for several more minutes until Kagome heard the buzzing of a town ahead. She turned her head, and although she was upside down, she could just make out the temple of Kaede's village – the temple that once housed the Shikon jewel before Kikyo died. However, the rest of the village was unfamiliar. Large stone walls surrounded the area with guards perched atop the wall manning the gates that were held open to allow traffic to pass through. Guards also stood at the entrance with watchful eyes observing the travelers passing into their city. Inside the gates were more wooden houses and shacks then Kagome could count. Since when had the village turned into a small _city_? The horse caravan passed through a busy market full of traders and skilled workers when Kagome decided to speak up.

"The village is so big now, how was all of this built?" she inquired.

The men decidedly ignored her, which was fine because her attention was momentarily diverted as her mouth was filled with saliva caused by the smells of roasted meat and spices caressed her nose.

Several minutes later they reached the back wall of the city and the men stopped their horses. The guards dismounted and tugged Kagome off of the horse by her restraints causing her to fall on her butt with an 'oof'.

"Ow…" Kagome whined out loud, trying to rub her sore back side with her hand.

One of the men hauled her up to her feet and pushed her in front of him, a controlling hand remained on her left shoulder. They walked into what appeared to be guard barracks and they stopped in front of a man wearing decorative armor and a large hat. More guards appeared from the shadows of the room they currently occupied, some looking at her uneasily and others making no attempt to hide the fact they were ogling her in a lude manner. Kagome uncomfortably shuffled her feet and looked back at the important looking man standing in front of her.

"Commander, we received word of this strange woman harassing travelers just outside the village. She is dressed strangely and claims she is friends with _Inuyasha_." The man stated, enunciating the name at the end. A few men around the room chuckled nudging their neighbor as if to say ' _Get a load of this whack job_ '.

The commander remained expressionless and his stare did not waver as he asked Kagome, "Woman, who is it that you seek in our city?"

Kagome met his stare and confidently repeated herself for what felt like the dozenth time, "Any of my friends: Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, and Inuyasha."

No one laughed this time and it was so silent you could hear a pin drop. The commander stood up and the men that held Kagome backed away as he approached. He was a large man and could see why he was the commander – he was daunting.

"If it is Inuyasha you seek," he started, his voice level and controlled, "you can relocate yourself to the dungeons."

Kagome felt bile rise to her throat as words failed to pass her lips. She was suddenly grabbed from behind and quickly led away from the room with the frightening commander. She quickly found herself stripped of any things in her pockets – keys, cellphone, and wallet – and was shoved into a small dungeon cell. The cell was dark and dank and the entire place smelled of must and urine. A few torches were mounted to the wall, giving off enough light to make out the bars of a few cells in front of her but not much else. Kagome shriveled her nose and grasped the iron bars of her chamber and called out to the guards leaving the dungeon.

"Wait, you can't leave me here!" she cried out after them

"You must not understand how laws work around here, young priestess." Came a gravelly croaky voice from the cell across from her.

"You know that I am a priestess?" Kagome asked the darkness beyond her cell. She heard a grunt, like someone was struggling with something, and then saw an old frail man with a long white beard materialize from the shadows.

"Of course I can, any person versed in the old ways of spirituality can see clear as day that you possess great spiritual ability. Whether you are capable of using them to your full capacity…" he trailed off and then chucked, "… well that is a different story."

Kagome didn't take offense knowing that it had been a long time since she had called upon any spiritual powers she possessed. "Old man, why I'm being arrested? I haven't committed any crime." She asked, not really expecting an answer.

"You wish to see Inuyasha, the half-demon," not a question, but he stated it rather matter-of-factly, "In doing so, you are directly conspiring against the resistance."

"The resistance? What resistance?" Kagome probed.

"You will find him soon enough." alleged the old man.

"What resistance? How did you know I wanted to see Inuyasha? And how will I see him?" she fired off question after question. But to her distress she watched the old man turn his back and return to the shadows. Grunts and a thud followed, she assumed these were the sounds of him lowering his weak and weary body to floor to sit. He began to hum a tune, a triumphant and hopeful tune.

"Hey! I need to know what's going on! Hey!" she called out to the old man, not noticing the dungeon door had flown open causing light to spill into the dark cavern. There was no response from the old man. Kagome looked to her left to see 2 guards approaching her and she backed away from her cell as the fiddled with the lock. They grabbed her by her restraints once again and shoved her into the dungeon walk way. The light emitting from the door gave Kagome a chance to peer into the old man's cell before she was taken away. In the cell across from hers there was no man, only a skeleton leaned against the wall, arm rested atop a bent knee, jaw slack, as if he'd died whistling his favorite tune. For the third time today Kagome found herself unable to speak as failed to grasp at the wild reality she had yet to come to terms with.


	3. Chapter 3

" _Some people are just born_

 _with tragedy in their blood" – Donnie Darko (2001)_

Chapter 3

Each guard put a heavy hand on Kagome's shoulders as they rushed her out of the clammy dungeon and steered her down a corridor that she hadn't seen on her way in. A few steps down the long hall the guards abruptly stopped and placed a sack over her head. Kagome gasped and opened her mouth to protest. In response she was gripped around the neck and thrusted back into a wall, pinned there by one of the men.

"Listen, wench," he hissed at her, his voice barely aboove a whisper, "you will remain quiet and not make a sound or I will lodge this dagger into your belly." Kagome felt the sharp point of blade press into her stomach several inches above her naval.

Just as quickly as the scuffle had begun, it ended and the guards were leading her back down the hall, this time with a promising hand tightly gripping the back of her neck. Kagome could not see, but could tell she had been taken outside when natural day light seeped in through the woven fibers of the bag. She struggled to keep up with the brisk pace she was forced to move at - in the approaching distance horse hooves impatiently pawed at the ground. The second man's hand left her shoulder and he quickly returned with what sounded like a couple horses. Relief flooded Kagome as her restrained hands behind her back were released only to realize they were being bound again at the front. The men mounted their horses, clicked their tongues and Kagome was suddenly jerked forward. Was she tied to the horse's saddle? She prayed that nothing would spook the horse on their journey to wherever the men planned to take her.

The sounds of the city became fainter as the horses, their riders, and their prisoner all moved toward the city gates. The horses stopped and the men began speaking,

"Men, we are off to dispose of a troubling prisoner." Spoke one of her captors. Kagome inhaled sharply and in response a heavy boot connected with her ribs.

Paper was being shuffled around, "Hm, and who might this one be?" questioned the unknown man. The man with the papers seemed to be off in the distance on the opposite side of the horse Kagome stood next to.

"This is the beggar wench that has been stealing from the markets for the past few weeks, she is causing too much trouble in the dungeons." Informed the other guard.

"I thought that beggar was disposed of earlier today? It's written here that she needed guards to take her out into the Ruin and dump her body." The man questioned now sounding suspicious.

Kagome heard the guard that she was being led by shift uncomfortably in his saddle, "We didn't have time to do it earlier with the odd woman traveler showing up rambling about that half demon Inuyasha."

"Ah yes, that woman claiming she was a priestess. Let me just see the beggar thief to record this and you can be on your way." Said the man shuffling more papers.

The guard's horse shifted and pushed into Kagome. Was the guard blocking her from view? Were these men helping her escape by having her pretend to be someone else? If anyone saw how she was dressed they'd surely find out that she was not who these men claimed she was. She shrunk herself as much as she could behind the horse and hoped no one would see her.

"The commander urged us to be hasty, as we have to watch the new prisoner. We have not yet determined whether or not she is a demon. Do you dare try to overstep the commander?" the other guard irritably yelled.

"No, not at all," growled the man with the papers, obviously agitated, "do hurry back." He began furiously scribbling down notes on his paper.

The men clicked their tongues and Kagome was led away from the city gates as the horses jerked her into a quick walking pace. Several minutes passed before the horses stopped and the bag was removed from her head. The first thing Kagome saw was abundant forest surrounding the path they were currently on – no city walls. She looked at her wrists bound together by rope, which was attached to the horse's saddle via another rope just as she expected. She looked up the guard on his horse next to her just as he reached down and hauled her up, placing her right in front of him on the saddle. He nudged the horse's sides and they were all off at a steady, galloping pace. Kagome, still tied to the saddle by her wrists, turned her head as best she could to watch the disappearing city behind them. She realized that she would most likely never be able to go back to the place that was once 'Kaede's Village'. Too many people knew of her and she'd surely be captured again or even killed. The guard positioned behind her roughly forced her head to look forward and then returned his hands to the reigns.

They rode in silence for what seemed to be hours until the guards reached the edge of the woods. Beyond them was only what Kagome could describe as a barren waste land. The ground was dry and cracked, the air was dusty and there wasn't a single tree, plant or pond as far as she could see. The horses didn't slow a beat as the charged into the dessert-like place appropriately referred to earlier as 'the ruin'. The men didn't allow their horses to slow until they reached a single, dead tree that protruded from the earth in the middle of nowhere.

Here they stopped their horses and tugged Kagome down from the saddle only to tie her up again. With a rope wrapped around her middle effectively connecting her to the tree there was no way for her to escape. The men began unpacking bits of dried meat and water and suddenly Kagome realized how hungry and thirsty she was. She decidedly kept her mouth shut as she watched them eat and drink their fill, hungrily watching them eat every bit of food. One of the guards walked up to Kagome and held a leather canteen to her lips. She drank the offered water greedily and didn't stop until he pulled it away and offered her some dried meat. She quickly ate it and savored the simple bit of food until she realized that it made her even hungrier.

"This is for remaining quiet as we left the city. We would have been executed on the spot if they knew what we were doing." Exhaled the exhausted looking guard.

She sourly frowned as she watched the guard walk away and lie down on the ground. Kagome looked to the other guard who was returning his belongings to his saddle bags. _Wait. Why would they have been executed? And what were they doing out here?_

"Hey, what are we doing here?" Kagome asked the guard by his horse who pointedly ignored her.

"If you aren't going to kill me then can you at least let me go?" She tried again. Again she was ignored.

"Listen, I –" she started but was interrupted by the guard laying on the ground.

"You're as good as dead out there if we let you go. Trust me when I say you'd rather us kill you than get killed by whatever is out there." he explained to her boredly.

"Are you talking about demons? I can handle myself. Please just let me go." She pleaded. The men laughed as the other guard settled himself on the ground near his companion, both of their backs to her.

"Sure you can, 'priestess'," one of the men taunted, "We've got plans for you anyways, so you just sit tight." he men said, waving his hand in the air dismissing her.

By this time it was getting dark and Kagome did her best to slump against the deadened tree to get comfy enough to doze off. What only felt like minutes later Kagome heard horses thundering toward their camp. The men flew up from their sleeping positions and stood facing the other way at attention. Whoever was coming toward them was coming from behind Kagome so she couldn't see who, and they were coming _fast_. Kagome observed the two guards to her left fumbling their hands nervously.

The approaching visitors stopped and Kagome heard a voice command the attention of the guards, "You summoned us?" said the first man with a voice like smooth whiskey.

"Yes. We have a woman here that has asked to see your leader." Stated one of the guards, not nearly as confident as he was before.

"Is that so?" came a second voice, "Woman, who is it that you wish to see?" amusement laced in his voice that made her skin prickle. She did not like these men at all. Kagome made the decision to not say Inuyasha's name since all it's done is get her in trouble.

"We can sense your fear, wench." Chuckled a third gruff voice. How many men were there?

Next she heard the clinking of numerous coins being jumbled together.

 _Are they selling me? Am I going to become a slave?_ She thought panic rising in her chest. She struggled against her restraints but it was no use.

"Here is your reward for continuing to ally with us against the resistance. Keep up the work." Praised the first smooth voice as she watched a coin purse get tossed at the guards. They scrambled to catch it and peered inside. They weren't selling her, they were narks. They were betraying their city and whatever 'the resistance' was. They nodded at the newcomers and quickly mounted their horses and left Kagome with her new captors.

She swallowed hard as it remained dead silent, not a single person moved or spoke. Suddenly another bag was shoved over her head and she shrieked. She was removed from the trunk of the tree and roughly hauled over someone's shoulder. It all happened so fast and suddenly that all she could manage to scream was "put me down". She then began to desperately cry out for the only person she could hope to come save her,

"Inuyasha! Inuyasha!" she screamed and screamed his name until she choked on the lump in her throat and she sobbed instead. Where was she going? Why was she being passed around and given to different people? Where were her friends and why wasn't Inuyasha coming to save her?

The men laughed in chorus and mounted their horses, the one carrying her draped her over the back of his saddle and they all took off into the night.

One of the men shouted over the sound of their horses hurtling over the dried expanse of land, "I guess the city guards weren't lying, she really does want to see him." Igniting another round of laughter from the men.

These horses moved at a much faster pace, the beasts grunted as they travelled the same distance as the men she was with earlier but in half the time. Kagome cried until her throat was sore. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Up until this point she had been in shock or unable to process what had been happening fast enough to react. Now, to what she assumed, she was with three new men and being taken far away from the well. There was nothing that she could do now as she came to terms with the fact that she didn't know what was going to happen to her or if she'd ever see her friends again.

They traveled long and far into the night, not stopping or slowing their mind-boggling pace. After several more hours of riding the men stopped their horses near what sounded like a river or stream. She was hauled off the back of the horse and spun around, someone's hand gripping her arm holding her in place.

"What the hell is she wearing? Is she a prostitute of some sort?" shouted the third gravelly voice

"If that's the case let's see what you look like." Mumbled the first voice as he removed the bag from her head.

It was daylight now and Kagome couldn't see anything but bright white light. She squinted and turned her face away, letting her eyes adjust. After several seconds she looked around to get an idea of where she was. She was at the mouth of a large shallow cave in the middle of a lush green forest. Three horses, the biggest she'd ever seen, were parked near a slow lazy stream drinking and eating. In front of her were three men, and they definitely were not _human_ men. They all stared at each other, mouths agape and in awe. Why were they all stopped and staring at her like this?

"It's been 50 years since we've last seen one of these." Said the one with the voice that made her skin prickle. His eyes were sharp, yellow and lizard-like, darting around from her to his companions.

"Shit, she looks like hell but it's definitely one of them." Said the third man, a brute with blue tinted skin and large tusk-like teeth.

Kagome scrunched up her nose in revulsion, "It's been 50 years since you've last seen what? A woman? And sorry I'm not to your liking but I've been traveling on the back of too many horses to count since I've been here and –"she argued but was cut off by a blunt smack to the face.

The first man was the one that had hit her. He was mostly human looking, and would even be considered conventionally attractive if it weren't for the large horn sticking out of his forehead and a red left eye. He remained expressionless and lowered his hand to his side. He stared at her and she stared blankly at him back.

"Ryuu," started the horned man, getting the attention of the blue-skinned brute, "take her to the stream and drown her." He said as calmly as he would tell someone to pick up carrots from the super market on their way home. Kagome's stomach dropped to her knees and her mouth dried instantly.

"No wait this is a mistake – I need to see Inuyasha! I'm Kagome his friend!" She desperately cried out, grasping at anything that may make her seem valuable. Ryuu did not pause as he clutched her arm and dragged her toward the water.

"That's what they all say," hissed the lizard demon, "you're not fooling us."

Kagome kicked and screamed profanities the whole way to the stream. She didn't bother calling out for anyone to come save her- she knew they wouldn't. She attempted to tug her wrists apart from the ropes that still held her hands together in front of her. The only person that could save her at this point was herself, and she wasn't even sure how she'd manage to do that.

Ryuu stepped into the cold stream and towed her into the frigid waters after him. The icy water stole her breath just before the brute shoved her under the water and held her head against the dirt floor of the river. She flailed and struggled but she didn't move against Ryuu's iron grip. She felt her lungs already twisting and painfully constricting as her body demanded more air. She knew she wouldn't last long. With that as her last passing thought, her brain shut off and her fight or flight instincts took over. Without thinking, she brought her bound hands out in front of her and grasped the demon's ankle and channeled whatever strength she had into pushing him off of her. Everything that followed happened too quickly for Kagome to process, but not too quickly for her to react. A bright pink light enveloped Kagome's hands and Ryu's leg. Ryuu howled in pain and let go of Kagome's head and fell back into the water. Kagome came up and gasped for the air she desperately needed to fill her lungs. Next she was out of the stream and tearing through the woods away from the three demons and their horses. After a few steps her brain processed that she could never outrun a demon, but her body and instincts had acted much quicker than her brain.

Before Kagome knew it she was being held by her neck off the ground against the tree. Her lungs burned for more air and she brought her hands up to to try to release the hand that tightened around her neck. She looked into the eyes of the horned man, expecting to be met with an angry beating but instead he looked… intrigued?

"You are not like the others. I have misjudged you, priestess." He said just as calmly as he did before. Kagome gasped for breath and he dropped her to the ground where she crumpled. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder once again and informed her, "You will be coming with us to the palace."

Kagome did not know where this palace was, or who she'd be seeing, but she was hopeful for some answers. Her adrenaline rush wore off, and suddenly Kagome was consumed by an intense wave of drowsiness.

The horned man felt her go limp as she fainted. He tightened his grip around her body that he easily carried on his shoulder, reached across his body and patted her thigh as he strode into their camp.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Thanks again for reading. I know not a lot has happened (or maybe you think the opposite) and a lot of things don't make sense, but the next chapter is where things start coming together! Please review and let me know what you think. Love it? Hate it? Is it too much? Not enough description? Too slow? Just right? Out of character? I'm open to everything and I promise I don't get offended! See you next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

" _Break if you must._

 _Your bones are made of raging resilience –_

 _you will rebuild yourself again even stronger." – Kaitlin Foster_

* * *

Chapter 4

In the dead of the night, there was suddenly a flurry of activity in the shallow cavern. Kagome sat upright gasping for breath after suddenly waking from her slumber. She had felt something watching her in her dreams, but now that she was awake and aware the feeling had intensified tenfold. Kagome didn't dare look around at her surroundings but instead stared ahead at the stream where the horses still stood bathed in moonlight. She couldn't see them, but she felt several pairs of calculating eyes watching her every movement. Kagome's heart rate slowed with every strangled gulp of breath she drew in, shakily exhaling shortly after. She felt a wave of hot pins prick her skin as she felt numerous eyes deepen their gaze from the ominous darkness. She had to get away, if not only for a few moments to clear her head. Something told Kagome that she was safe for now, that these demons planned on keeping her alive at least for a while longer.

Kagome didn't let her eyes leave the stream as she slowly stood up, testing the limits of her freedom. When she didn't hear a sound she took one step, then another, and then walked out of the cave. The moon was full and its glossy light illuminated everything clearly enough for Kagome's human eyes to see effortlessly. She dared to steal a look back behind her but she couldn't see past the darkness that festered at the mouth of the cave. No one had followed her. It seems her captors chose to remain cloaked in the darkness and allow her roam about.

"What are you doing, priestess?"

Kagome whipped her head around and stumbled backwards simultaneously as she met the eyes, one crystalline blue and the other red, of the horned man. Kagome hadn't heard a word he'd said due to the blood rushing in her ears – all these sudden scares had her on edge. Her poor heart would surely give out at the ripe age of 30. Kagome and the man stood by the stream in the glow of the moon, she gaping at him unable to find words, he rolling his eyes at her inadequacy.

"What are you doing, priestess?" he chided.

"I'm just going to get a drink of water." Kagome declared as levelly as she could manage. She wanted to push the boundaries of her freedom. She cautiously walked past the man to the stream and knelt down, bringing a few cupped handfuls of water to her mouth. The water was crisp and cold and it soothed the fingers of uneasiness that entwined themselves in her intestines. Kagome stood up and turned around to face the demon who had relocated himself closely behind her.

Kagome nervously cast her eyes to the side, "I also need to go to the bathroom." She said. The man raised an eyebrow but other than that did not change his guarded expression.

"I have to piss." Kagome quickly rephrased her statement, her face now heating up.

"Alright, you don't need my permission." The man yawned quite jaded. His tone, did not betray the amusement he found in her obvious discomfort.

Her eyes snapped up to meet his. "I'm not peeing in front of you." She insisted, her voice an octave higher than it was just a moment ago.

"Then you'll have to wait until we get to the palace." He smirked at the human woman. She squirmed in response. He didn't care to be a pervert, he just didn't want to expend any more energy on this troubling priestess. He allowed her to hide behind a tree to relieve herself but he remained close by in case she had ulterior motives.

With a firm hand on her shoulder Kagome was escorted back to the cave and was again overwhelmed by the sensation of being watched by several sets of eyes from the surrounding darkness. She laid down on the rocky cavern floor and remained awake for hours unable to ignore the holes burning in her back. A kink was beginning to pulse in her neck and she prayed that their trip to the palace was fast and uneventful.

Morning came with a large hand under Kagome's arm yanking her from the ground. She looked wildly about as she struggled to comprehend what was happening. She must have gotten a few hours of the sleep but nonetheless she still felt like death. The sudden fashion in which she awoke caused a throbbing headache to form behind her right eyebrow. Kagome lifted her head and looked at the blue brute, Ryuu, who dragged her out of the cave and tossed her to the ground. Kagome groaned once she crashed against the forest floor, pain radiating off of the stiff shoulder she slept on the night before. Kagome picked her head up out of the grass and was face-to-face with the gnarly wound she had inflicted on Ryuu's leg. The place where she had locked her hands on his leg was easily the goriest part of the injury. She had tried to purify him and that was certainly one of the worst things you could do to a demon. Her power had eaten through layers of muscle on his bulky legs and had nearly exposed his bone. The burns extended upward, shooting up to the middle of his thigh.

Ryuu reached down and picked Kagome up by a fistful of her hair, holding her face near the exposed and now rotting flesh of his leg.

"You see this, bitch?" He shouted furiously, "This will never heal because you tried to purify me. If you are just another imitation and are unneeded then I will make you pay for this." He threw Kagome to the ground with force, causing her forming headache to split ear to ear. She wanted to ask what he meant, but decided it was better to remain silent.

Kagome gritted her teeth and placed her palms flat on the ground to push herself up. She couldn't let this man think she was weak, she couldn't afford to let any of them think she was weak. She needed to let them know that Kagome was not one to be pushed around and make it clear that she was obviously still a threat to their safety.

A foot squarely connected itself between her shoulder blades and she crashed to the ground again, this time with an 'oof' as the air was forced from her lungs. The heavy foot held her to the ground as a pair of hands harshly jerked her arms behind her back and bound them there together. She was then hoisted up and found herself next to the lizard man.

"Furan, take a rope and tie it around her body a few times, make sure its secure." Called the horned man lazily perched atop his horse, "Ryuu deserves a little repayment for all of his… troubles."

The man called Furan snickered and tightly wrapped a long rope several times around Kagome's midsection; from her hips to just under her breasts. She was then led to Ryuu's horse and tied to the saddle.

"You will walk today, or run, depending on how much of a hurry we're in." leered Furan before he turned away to mount his own horse.

Three tongue's clicked and they were walking through the woods, Kagome tripping alongside the brute's horse. They soon found a path but Kagome didn't have a better time keeping up with the group. After hours of walking on little sleep Kagome was struggling to keep up at the walking pace they had set, her headache pounding on her temples. Every time she tripped and fell Ryuu would allow her to be dragged for several hundred feet before stopping and allowing her to stand up again. A sharp rock had already cut open her knee, blood oozing from the wound before it had been clotted by dirt. When Kagome didn't think things could be worse, Ryuu clicked his tongue again and his horse took off at a gallop. Kagome was ripped froward from her feet and cried out as she was dragged behind the horse at terrifying speeds. She wailed as rocks and sticks punctured her body causing pain to rapidly bloom in too many places for her to process at once.

"Oh, shut up you noisy bitch!" Ryuu thundered, irritated that such a relatively small and weak thing could cause so much racket.

Kagome ignored him and continued to scream, and in response she was introduced to the bite of a whip that struck her cheek all the way down to her feet. She cried out in response and he whipped her a few more times, the acidity of the sting imprinting itself in her memory. The feeling of that damned horse whip lashing at her and tearing at her skin would take decades to scrape from the walls of her mind.

He rode like this for several minutes before he stopped and dismounted his horse to look at the damage he'd caused.

Kagome, with tears streaming down her now dirty and bruised face, refused to look at the monster. Instead, she opted to keep her eyes firmly shut. She was crudely turned over onto her back by Ryuu's large hand and she turned her face away from him. She would not give him the satisfaction of the pain and fear that dwelled in her eyes. Kagome would not plead for mercy or forgiveness, she would not show them that she was afraid. She could pretend all she wanted that she wasn't scared, but she knew deep down that she was terrified of these men. She had been since the moment she was traded for gold by those two traitor city guards. All the time chasing after the jewel shards and she had never been in this much pain and danger at the hand of any other demon. This was her second day back in the age of demons and she had been beaten, humiliated, nearly drowned, and now tortured by these despicable men. Oh, the fear didn't just dwell in the whites of her eyes, it began to take residence there. She was _petrified_.

Her eyes flew open as she felt rocks and sticks being pulled out of her flesh. She looked down to see the horned man pulling a sharp stick out of her inner thigh, the end covered in her dark red, sticky blood. He cupped his chin placing his finger under his nose as he 'tsked' at her and shook his head.

"For Ryuu's sake, I hope you aren't the real thing. That burn on his leg will be the last thing he'll be worrying about." The man grimaced, looking at her various wounds, all of them exposed due to her newly tattered jeans. Kagome recalled the questions she needed to ask, but the words were torn away from her lips as pain ignited in her foot. Kagome released a guttural cry, new tears spilling as the man removed a small, bloody, jagged rock from her left foot. Her shoes were gone too and she hadn't even noticed.

The horned man called out to the monster now seated back on his horse, "Ryuu, I don't think she'll be able to walk much now that you've dragged her. You've really done her in." he hollered to Ryuu, "Humans are so weak." muttering the last bit to himself more than anyone else.

"That's fine, I wasn't planning on having her doing much walking." Ryuu chortled sadistically before clicking his tongue a few more times sending his horse back into a gallop.

Kagome screamed again, this time being dragged behind the horse on her back. Her hands immediately began to burn as they were torn across the dirt. She felt the skin shredding off of her hands and an entirely new level of pain that Kagome had never known was born. She tried to scream, even compromised on her original plan and attempted to beg for mercy but she was choked by the dirt that the horse was kicking up. Her lungs inhaled dirt and dust and she wretched and coughed, breathable air just out of her grasp. Kagome felt that this went on for ages and she genuinely feared this is how she would die: tied and dragged by a horse for miles upon miles before dying by asphyxiation. Then, a sharp pain to her skull and everything went black.

Kagome awoke this time positioned on the front of a saddle, arranged near the horse's withers. Her body was draped across the horse in front of one of the men, her middle resting on the saddle and each end of her body hung limply on either side of the horse. She couldn't feel or process much, her head feeling like it might split in two and fall apart at any moment.

 _A rock. My head…. It must have hit a rock._ She deduced slowly in her foggy mind.

She hung limply from the animal and vacantly stared at the ground underneath her passing in a blur with heavy lids. Her face was so close to the horse's legs that their feet striking the earth created a rhythmic drumming in her ears. Kagome's head throbbed and she slipped in and out of consciousness to the beat of the galloping horses' hooves.

It was hours, maybe a day later when she next awoke – she didn't really know. The horse was stopped and she was still draped over the horse in the same fashion as she had been earlier. All she could see was the dirt ground and the horse's hooves - her neck heavy and unwilling to turn and look to the side. She saw dried blood splattered and streaked down the horse's leg her face was nearest to. Had the horse been hurt or was it her own blood that had dripped onto the animal? Kagome tried to work her hands free of her restraints, her hands fidgeting with the now frayed and disheveled rope. Her hands behind her back were exposed and within plain sight to whatever demon she was sharing this saddle with. Her hands were met with the painful blunt sting of a crop. She cried out, suddenly being reminded that her hands were completely raw, void of any skin that occupied that space before.

"We have brought another woman that wants to see Lord Inuyasha, a woman who calls herself _Kagome_." declared the horned man, the source of his voice rather close. Kagome determined she must be on his horse. She wanted to pin him as the nicest of the three, but bile rose in her chest as she acknowledged the fact that he didn't try to stop her torture. They were all evil as far as she was concerned.

"Another Kagome you say? I'm sure Lord Inuyasha will be thrilled to see this." crowed a voice from afar.

 _Another Kagome? LORD Inuyasha?_ Kagome had so many unanswered questions.

"Open the gates." Commanded Furan from nearby.

Kagome heard the scrape of iron against the ground and the horses were in motion again. After a few moments the horses were hitched and she listened to the three men dismount their steeds. Next Kagome was pulled from the back of the horse and steadied on her feet. She gritted her teeth and inhaled sharply as her left foot connected with the ground, the wound where a rock had been embedded in her skin reopening. Kagome fell to the ground her cheek squarely smacking into the dirt, unable to catch herself due to her still bound hands. Ryuu growled impatiently and two unfamiliar demons looped their arms under her armpits and hauled her off the ground. They towed her away from the horses, her head hung downcast, arms dangling limply, and her legs being dragged behind – you wouldn't know from a glace whether she was dead or alive. Her three captors casually strolled after her following their cargo into the palace. The only evidence Kagome had ever been there was her blood and tears that were left in the dirt of the courtyard.

Kagome was dragged through long wooden halls of the estate where she gathered she would receive her reckoning. Her body was too spent, injured and shattered to attempt to resist the men that dragged her through the long stately halls. She watched blood drip onto the floor only to be smeared onto the floor by her limp legs dragging behind her. The three men behind her called this place home and bit by bit Kagome was defiling the cleanliness and pristine condition with her wretchedness. She was too weary to smile at the trivial battle she felt she had won. Kagome's mind drifted to more pressing matters: Who was this Lord Inuyasha? This surely wasn't her hanyou she had left behind only 6 years ago. What was it that they had said about "another Kagome"? She didn't have much time to answer these questions herself before she was suddenly stationary and dropped to her knees. The arms holding up her torso remained locked under her armpits as they fully supported the battered woman's weight. It was eerily quiet and she was aware of several pairs of eyes staring at her for the second time today, but she didn't attempt to lift her heavy head – not yet.

"My lord, we have brought you another woman who claims she is the priestess Kagome. It has been a long 50 years since we have found one of these women and brought them before you and your court. We only bring her before you because this one has demonstrated the power of a priestess, something the others have not possessed. Please forgive us for wasting your time if she is just another imitation, my Lord." Announced the horned man.

Silence. Kagome, her head still hung, stared at the polished wooden floor boards below her. There were other Kagomes? Copies of herself? There were people who looked like her and were pretending to be her? And the only reason she was still alive was because she had demonstrated her power by injuring Ryuu? So maybe all that torture she had endured at the hand of the blue-skinned demon wasn't all for nothing. A sudden surge of emotion swelled in her chest that she quickly swallowed down. She had made it this far, she couldn't be weak now.

Kagome heard the horned man step forward from behind her and she felt his hand tangle itself in her hair. He clutched a fistful of her hair and held it taught. She gritted her teeth as she felt a clotted wound on her scalp freshly reopen. The horned man didn't loosen his grip or seem to care that her blood began to freely flow and soil his pristine clawed hand.

"The woman's face, my Lord." The horned man pulled her head back to expose her face to the court. Although the room was too bright for Kagome with natural light spilling in through the windows of the palace, Kagome's eyes immediately fell on the figure that was at the center of everyone's attention. She opened her eyes and bared her teeth at him – she was not afraid. Several tributaries of blood trickled its way down her face, slowly traveling over the curvature of her cheek bones or down the ridge of her nose, and dripping to the floor as it departed from her jaw. The drips of her blood pattering to the floor were audible in the otherwise dead silent room.

Finally Kagome's eyes adjusted to the light and she locked eyes with the Lord of the palace. Her glare marginally softened into a hard stare as she looked at the man before her unbelievingly. There, lounging on his throne was Inuyasha, the very same half demon she had befriended years ago. He returned her hard, brazen stare and he remained expressionless. Time slowed, and for but a moment there was nobody else in the room with them. She searched his stony face, trying to decipher that harsh stare but instead found a wall between them. His golden eyes looked the same, but they were unyielding and didn't falter at the sight of her. Kagome blinked and realization dawned on her: this was _not_ the same Inuyasha that she had known years ago. He had changed.

"My lord…" said the horned man. Kagome watched all the subjects in the court bow down lowly to Inuyasha, including the guards her supported her upright. She felt the horned man thrust her head down to the ground and her forehead connected with the palace floor sounding an effective _smack_. She waited, her eyes mere centimeters away from a collected puddle of her own blood. After an eternity of waiting, Kagome heard his voice as unfeeling as the gaze he had held her with just moments before.

"Take her to her to a cell and restrain her there." Inuyasha spoke evenly, with an emotionless voice that shook Kagome to her core. The guards immediately jerked her up and began to drag Kagome away from the court and away from Inuyasha's presence. This _was not_ the same conflicted but caring Inuyasha she had come to love and adore. Kagome found the strength to turn her neck, and lock eyes again with the half demon.

There sat Lord Inuyasha on his throne, in all of his glory and his wickedness.


	5. Chapter 5

_"I told her I was lost in this world_ _,_

 _and she smiled, because she was too._

 _We were all lost somehow,_

 _but we didn't care,_

 _we had in the chaos_

 _found each other." - Atticus_

Chapter 5

"Oh, Inuyasha" Kagome lamented, finally allowing her tears to spill quickly down her cheeks. His blatant disregard for her had her feeling chewed up and spit out. She had endured so much in order to find him – it was _his name_ she had called out when she was most frightened. There she had been kneeled before him, beaten and bloody, and he had dismissed her. Ordered, in fact, that she be put in chains and thrown into a cell. And here she was, in this dingy circular stone-walled room, kneeling on the cold rocky ground. Kagome had been unable to stand on her feet, absolutely certain that the open oozing wound on the bottom of her left foot was now infected. Each wrist now adorned an iron cuff sporting a chain that attached to the wall. With Kagome kneeling and sitting on her heels and her arms strung up a few inches above her head, she had little mobility. Kagome screwed her eyes shut and attempted to bite back more tears, but they freely fell anyways pittering on the stony floor.

Why had he betrayed her like this? She was clearly Kagome - his companion - who helped him search for the jewel shards; Kagome who had aided him in destroying Naraku; Kagome who had spent one of her last moments kissing him within the Shikon Jewel. How could he already forget? Or better yet, who were these imitations or copies of herself? What had they done to drive such a rift between her and the hanyou?

"Oh, Inuyasha," Kagome repeated, choking out a quiet sob as she wept on the dungeon floor.

"What is it that you want?" a toneless voice silenced her cries immediately.

Kagome's head snapped up and she found the eyes of the man she wept for. She searched his hollow amber eyes desperately but found nothing. He made no move toward her as she leaned forward against her restraints in a feeble attempt to close the miles of distance between them. He silently judged her from where he stood in the door way of Kagome's prison. If he felt anything or wanted to say something to her he hid the urge well.

For the first time, she really studied his changed appearance. Inuyasha still wore the robe of the fire rat, a gift from his father to his beloved mother. Over his robe he was protected by black gilded plate of armor tightly strapped around his chest and hips. A black and gold obi slung low on his hips and tied at his waist held the entire ensemble together royally. Plated armor that eerily resembled his father's own rested upon his shoulders and shielded his arms; its enormous spikes thrust upward from the iron plates creating a most sinister and dangerous aura about the half-demon. His long, thick, silvery hair was tied up in a neat pony tail that sat high on his head imposing an air of importance. His bangs, however, remained unchanged, a messy tuft of hair that dusted his eyelids. What was most striking of all was how much Inuyasha appeared to have matured. His golden eyes looked older, wiser and his face and jaw line were more defined, making him look more like a man than ever before. The stubborn scowl and upturned nose he often threw to the sky were nowhere to be seen. Rather, he regarded her with cool and controlled scrutiny, and only spoke when he had something to say, not when he demanded to be heard. He wasn't quite like his brother Sesshoumaru, who looked down the ridge of his nose at everyone with bitter hatefulness in his heart. She did not believe Inuyasha had lost his sense of compassion – yet. Kagome's heart ached as it dawned on her that Inuyasha strongly resembled his father, the great Inu No Taisho. The resemblance was far too uncanny to be a simple coincidence.

 _Oh, what a few years has done for this young Lord._ Her heart crooned as she watched Inuyasha's eyes sweep over her, most likely taking the chance to inspect her as well.

"Inuyasha" she breathed his name once more, her tears drying as she eagerly awaited for him to acknowledge her. She would finally be reunited with Inuyasha and her friends. There is nothing more in the entire world that she desired more than to be surrounded by friends and people who loved her. Kagome had been alone for so long and being so strong for such a long time was taking its toll on her. She craved the warmth and support of her dearest friends.

Suddenly Inuyasha's face was hard again.

"Prove to me that you are the real Kagome and I will let you live." He stated, his voice like smoke and honey – thick, dark and smooth.

"What?" Kagome whispered, her mouth falling open and her eyes disbelieving. It was not over.

Inuyasha unsheathed Tessaiga and pointed it at Kagome's neck, the very tip of the blade coming to rest right under her chin.

"Prove to me that you are not just another imitation sent here to haunt me, or I will spill your blood without hesitation." He threatened.

Kagome wildly grasped at any information that may save her, "Inuyasha! It's me, Kagome! We defeated Naraku together. You, Sango, Miroku, Ship-."

"That is not difficult knowledge to attain," Inuyasha cut her off mid-sentence.

"Your sword," she blurted looking down the long blade of the fang, "It's called Tessaiga, I was with you when you first found it and I was able to remove it from its resting place."

Inuyasha seemed to consider this for a moment while chewing on his lip before letting his gaze fall back onto the chained woman, pressing the sword closer to her jugular, "Try harder, I'm not convinced." He concluded.

Kagome wracked her brain for anything she could say to prove to him that she was the Kagome he knew from before. Inuyasha further pressed the tip of the blade closer to her neck and she felt the sharp edge pierce her skin. Kagome turned her head away trying to put a few breaths of air between her and the deadly fang, tears now freely falling down her cheeks. She had never known what it was like to be at the receiving end of his treasured blade and she never wanted to find herself there again. Why was he doing this to her? Kagome would gladly welcome all of the heartbreak she'd previously experienced when Inuyasha consistently chose Kikyo over herself – it was better than being treated like his worst enemy. There must be something that made her undeniably Kagome that could save her. But she had changed enormously since she'd been 15 and fighting demons in the feudal era, it was hard to remember exactly what she'd been like back then. She had been uncertain, too-trusting, emotional, angry…

A moment of clarity broke through Kagome's panicked thoughts and she found her saving grace.

"Sit!" she croaked loudly.

Nothing happened. Inuyasha remained standing with Tessaiga still pressed to her throat, nearly breaking the sensitive skin there. The air was deathly still between them as they both stared at each other.

"Why… why didn't you fall? The beads of subjugation, you... you should be.." Kagome sputtered, her voice trailed off unbelieving.

For the first time since their reunion, Inuyasha's distant ice king act faltered. He slowly sheathed Tessaiga and looked away from her, his eyes downcast to the side. Was he… ashamed?

"So it really is you." He muttered.

"Yes Inuyasha, it's me. I've been looking for you." Kagome sobbed her relief, letting her head fall forward.

"As I had been looking for you." Inuyasha stated quietly as he moved toward her.

Rather than consoling her, he reached forward and released her wrists from the cuffs that bound her to the wall. Kagome fell forward and crumpled into a shattered heap on the floor. She had finally found him, and he knew that she was here now. Kagome looked up, bleary eyed, searching for him only to see his back disappear through the door. The door was quickly shut and locked after the young Lord vacated the small round room.

 _That was… it?_ Kagome thought, her brows knitting closer together. _He's such a jerk!_ How she wished the beads of subjugation had actually worked. Now that she thought of it, she hadn't seen the bulby necklace resting on his chest. Somehow that jerk had taken them off. She groaned in frustration. Kagome had expected a much warmer welcome from her dearest friend and yet he acted like he didn't care.

It was only moments later that a female demon came bustling in the room to clean Kagome's wounds. She didn't treat them or give her medicine, but rather cleaned off the caked blood and dirt around her wounds. It wasn't much, but Kagome felt a little better than she had before. After the woman left, a young male carefully walked in, eyeing her suspiciously while he set a jug and tray of food down near the door. Kagome moved to thank him but he jumped and was quickly out of the room with the door locked behind him. She huffed in annoyance and shuffled across the floor to the food and drink. Kagome swore that she had never enjoyed water so much in her entire life. It sated the burning in her throat and quenched her scorching thirst. On the tray was a few pieces of fruit and a handful of dried meat. Kagome gorged herself on the small meal savoring every bite. How long had it been since she'd had an actual meal? Kagome was still hungry but she didn't complain, her spirits were lifted and she was feeling much better. Was this because of Inuyasha? Maybe he hadn't become such a cold-hearted jerk after all.

* * *

He had so desperately wanted to believe it was her from the first moment she had been dragged into his court. When Takakazu had grabbed a fistful of her hair Inuyasha had gotten a very clear whiff of her blood. His brain screamed at him, clawed at his skull willing him to say her name and help his friend. His brain, the emotional side of it would never forget the smell of her blood and Inuyasha knew that. He had smothered his irrational and emotional urges and instead ordered her to be taken away. It was too soon, and he couldn't afford to be careless. Inuyasha watched her as she was dragged out of his court, all of his subjects' eyes on the tattered priestess. Suddenly, her piercing and pleading eyes bore into his own and everyone looked to him. She did not know, but a prisoner looking directly into the eyes of a Lord was a direct challenge, and this woman had now done it twice. Before it had the chance to surface Inuyasha had masked his shock and answered her challenge with an icy stare of his own. This seemed to be a sufficient enough response for his subjects as they returned to their tasks bustling around him as if nothing had happened.

What if she was just a more advanced fake sent to destroy him? He couldn't be so trusting just because the blood smelled just as Kagome's had so long ago. Not to mention, Inuyasha had come to peace with the fact that Kagome would be dead by now on her side of the well. No mortal could survive that long. Many, many years have passed and Kagome should be dead. And yet… this Kagome looked like she had only matured into adulthood. He couldn't let his guard down, this woman was either sent to destroy him or haunt him – a constant reminder that he had lost her after completing the jewel. Damn those who tried to undermine his rule by using his half-human side as a weapon against him. They thought just because he was half-human that they could play his emotions and force him to his knees? He would put an end to this trickery. Inuyasha stood up and walked away from his throne, not waiting for everyone in the room to bow to him before he exited the court. Inuyasha was aggravated and his claws itched to cut something down. Maybe if he had not become a Lord, but such foolish behavior would only cause rumors and gossip. He needed to remain controlled to prove his worth as a powerful leader.

Inuyasha was purposefully making his way across the courtyard, leaving the polished wooden palace behind him and entering the dingy stone dungeon built for prisoners and those who threatened his rule. He paused outside the door he knew Kagome was behind, soft cries emanating from the cell.

"Oh, Inuyasha," he heard the woman sob. His eyebrows raised and eyes marginally widened.

 _She's not crying about her situation or her poor mistreatment but she's crying… for me?_ He thought. Duly noted. It was a very Kagome-like gesture to be upset about others over her own well-being. A seed of hope was planted in his chest that he didn't have the strength to de-soil. Rather, he silently walked into the room and answered her call.

Up close, she was much worse off than he'd thought. She was covered in wounds, her own blood and dirt and worse off than any other copy that had ever been brought to him. Her clothes hung off of her body in rags and nothing she wore looked like it could be salvaged. This allowed him to see how beaten and wounded she really was and he grimaced. Cuts decorated her skin like it was the latest fashion and a wicked bruise that started at her swollen cheek snaked down her body and legs. _A horse whip?_ He internally cocked an eye brow as he swept his gaze back up to her blood covered face.

The hope and relief in her eyes didn't go unnoticed, he just chose to dismiss it. Very quickly he was pointing Tessaiga at the blubbering girl and pressing it nearer and nearer to her jugular. How many times had he done this before in this exact room, spilling the blood of dark priestesses or demons pretending to be the woman he had once loved? How many fake stories had he heard? How many cries of mercy had fallen on deaf ears? Inuyasha had lost count. They always recited the same bits of information, granted, this particular woman before him did know how he came to possess his father's fang better than the others.

Then – she said it. That one syllable word that almost had him bracing himself still after all this time. He felt the beads tucked away in his robe come to life - the binding curse animating their power that pushed against his own aura. He ignored the beads and quickly sheathed Tessaiga as she continued to sputter her disbelief. He suddenly felt the weight of his betrayal and her pain fall onto his shoulders. She would never forgive him because _even now_ he could still not let his guard down. This was, without a doubt her soul before him, but was it really the same Kagome from _150 years ago_? That he could not answer so surely. The least he could do was try to heal the body her soul possessed, but he would not be able to make things right between them – not yet. He couldn't act too rash and risk everything he had accomplished and built for himself. He released Kagome from her restraints and immediately left the room before she could see the war of emotions play across his face.

 _I am the Lord of demon creatures in this land, the power against the Resistance. My human half is what has made me an effective leader for the demon kind and against destructive humans, I will not let it be used against me._ _I will do what I can, if you are really Kagome, but I can no longer be what you want me to be. You are 150 years too late, that time has come and passed long ago._ Inuyasha declared in his mind as he strode to his personal chambers.

* * *

Kagome laid back against the wall of her cell impatiently drumming her fingers on the lip of her water jug. It had been hours since she finished her meal and she was becoming increasingly bored locked in this cell. Drowning in her thoughts of Inuyasha and her confusion had only made her more frustrated and anxious. She tried to think of something else to preoccupy her time, but being stuck in her current situation in which she had narrowly avoided death at the hands of a stuck up, mysterious hanyou she once called a dear friend and knowing that she was hobbling on eggshells – there was little else to think about.

The door to her cell opened and a young woman stood, curiously gawking at the priestess that had created so much buzz about. Kagome quizzically stared back at her, not sure if she should fear this demon woman or not. This petite woman had a whimsical, quirky look about her. Her skin was whiter than fresh snow, her features were small, sharp and her hair was wispy and iridescent. Although the woman was a pretty little thing, her demon aura was weak and Kagome could see the hesitation in her large observant eyes. Kagome was sure her newly re-awakened priestess aura was probably threatening to the young demon woman.

"If you follow me, I will be taking you to the baths." The young woman said politely.

"Oh. uh- wow- Thank you." Kagome stammered. She didn't know what she was expecting, but certainly not such a nice gesture. Kagome worked her way into a standing position and managed to stagger over to the door way using the walls to stabilize her tired body.

"Please tell me, is this Inuyasha's doing?" Kagome asked, following the demoness out of the prison house.

"Letting you use the guest baths was per Lord Inuyasha's request, yes." Explained the young woman who had slowed her pace as not to rush the prisoner priestess.

"He has also requested you receive a new change of clothes and that you meet him in the study after your bath." The young woman continued, "Quite unusual behavior toward a woman that I just met in a prison cell, I dare add." The woman looked back at Kagome with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Kagome opened her mouth to inform the servant just exactly who this 'prisoner' was but decided to save it when her escort stopped in front of the guest bathhouse.

"You'll find everything you need within the baths including a…" the woman looked Kagome up and down, "… proper set of clothing. After your bath I will be here to escort you to Lord Inuyasha's study." And with that the young woman bowed her head and left Kagome in front of the bath house.

Kagome wasted no time sliding the door open and finding all of her bathing supplies sitting near the edge of the bath. She tore off what was left of her top and took more care peeling her pants off of the sticky clotted wounds on her legs. Although the water was a little hotter than her liking, Kagome instantly melted into the milky water and sighed contentedly. She scooped a handful of water and inhaled its aromatic scent – lavender, orchid, aloe, and a few other herbs. Not only would this bath mixture make Kagome smell lovely, but by the stinging sensation at her injuries she assumed it would also disinfect her cuts. She sank under the warm water and released all of the air from her lungs causing her to sink to the bottom of the bath. Kagome felt as if she were wrapped in a warm liquid blanket that cocooned her every curve perfectly. She relished in the calming quiet under the surface and felt the weight of her misery and distress dissolve. Kagome came up for air and relaxed against the edge of the bath while running her hands through her long tresses. _Inuyasha's request, huh?_ She owed him her gratitude because she had never known a bath could feel so incredible. Kagome spent the next half hour massaging her tense body and relaxing in the soothing water.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Kagome quickly spun around and sank into the herbal bath water nose deep. An old, odd-looking woman slowly made her way into the bathhouse to the edge of the tub. Kagome uncomfortably stared at the scowling woman and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Well, are ya just gonna stand there and gawk or are ya gonna let me heal ya?" crowed the healer, "Get out of the bath and let me see where ya hurt."

Kagome quickly slid out of her bath and wrapped the waiting towel around her torso kneeling in front of the woman. If Kagome hadn't been watching she would have missed the woman's long, narrow tongue slip out her mouth and flick into the air.

"Let me see ya foot," the woman flicked her tongue out again, "the left one."

Kagome sat back amazed and stuck her leg out to the woman who gripped her heel firmly inspecting the wound. The healer took a few leaves from her breast pocket and popped them into her mouth chewing them dutifully. Then, to Kagome's shock the woman's tongue flicked out and _licked_ the wound. The woman ignored Kagome's reaction of disgust and continued chewing the leaf mixture. After a few moments she spit the mixture into her hand and applied the salve to the bottom of Kagome's foot.

"This here is the remedy to kill the infection spreading in ya foot." The woman explained, sounding much more patient now.

Next she placed her hands on either side of Kagome's head and her snake-like tongue flicked the top of the priestess's head.

"It looks like ya had a helluva time getting to the palace," the woman commented while extracting some roots from her other breast pocket and popping those into her mouth. Kagome nodded and mumbled her affirmation. The woman spit the root remedy into her hand and applied it to the gnarly wound on Kagome's head.

"This will help heal that gash on ya head faster. Ya shouldn't let yourself get hit in ya head with rocks." The woman said standing up.

"It's not like I wanted to I –." Kagome protested, but the old healer woman had her back turned as she made her way to the bath house entrance.

Kagome sighed heavily and began to dry off her body with care. She found her change of clothing and slipped them on – a simple civilian's kimono in blue. Kagome didn't know what she was expecting, blue jeans wouldn't be invented for several centuries so she just accept what she was given graciously and finished dressing.

Before standing she glanced at the wound on her foot and gasped in delighted surprise. The angry red puffiness surrounding the gash had disappeared and the severed sides had already begun healing together. Kagome pushed herself to her feet and put weight onto her foot – no pain. She must find the healer woman later and figure out who she is. As a novice priestess learning under Kaede 6 years ago Kagome knew some herbal remedies and medicines but nothing this impressive or advanced. Kagome finger-combed her thick hair as best as she could before stepping out of the guest house.

As promised, the young woman sat on the deck of the house waiting Kagome's return. She stopped picking at her nails and looked Kagome up and down. Before standing up and walking away, Kagome falling into step behind her.

"You look much better now, priestess," the woman stated, tossing the compliment over her shoulder, "… not to mention smell better. It was tough to be near you, we demons have sensitive senses, you know." The woman turned around half-smiling at her.

Kagome's face heated up. _Great,_ she thought, _Inuyasha's first time seeing me again and I had smelled that bad?_ Kagome wanted to frown but couldn't, she had an inkling that she would really come to like this quirky, mischievous woman in front of her. The pair walked in silence for a while before Kagome's curiosity got the best of her.

"What is your name and demon origin? And what are you doing here working for Inuyasha?" Kagome inquired. The woman stopped in front of two imposing wooden doors and turned to face human behind her.

"My name is Misuzu and I am a moth demon. I am also a servant of _Lord_ Inuyasha and probably one of the only friendly faces you'll see in this entire kingdom. You'd do well to remember that, priestess." Misuzu slyly sang before turning around and tossing the doors to the side.

"Lord Inuyasha's study…." Misuzu trailed off and expectantly looked at the other woman.

"Oh, Kagome. I am Kagome." She fumbled.

"…. Kagome. Like last time you will find me out here when Lord Inuyasha is finished with your conversation." Misuzu informed her before pushing Kagome past the doors and shutting them behind her, but not before winking at the startled human.

 _Alright, let's hope this goes better than last time._ Kagome pleaded before squaring her shoulders and confidently walking into the study.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading, favoriting and following my story! My spring break is coming to an end but I think I'm going to try to continue my pace of updating every 3 or 4 days. No promises though, it could fall back to once a week. What takes me so long is that I have to proof read each chapter 16 times. I don't really have much of a plan for this story, so I as I'm writing I'll suddenly get an idea and change/add something. Later I review and I find that it doesn't add up to what I was previously writing about or I have to go back and introduce the new concept or event.** **So I end up going through it each time smoothing it out over and over again until its at least kinda-readable lol. Again, I'm not a writer and I prefer just getting to the point so I'm trying EXTRA HARD to make this suspenseful and go slow. Find out more stuff next chapter ("stuff" because I haven't yet decided the details of all these mysteries I've spun). Thanks again!**


	6. Chapter 6

_"I promise you,_

 _these storms are only trying_

 _to wash you clean_." — _Jessica Katoff_

Chapter 6

After Misuzu closed the study doors, Kagome took a few confident steps down the short, narrow hall that spilled into the study. Kagome was hidden from view behind a privacy wall that served to keep visitors from immediately seeing what business was happening in the study. She hid behind the wall and peaked one eye from behind her cover to first see what awaited on the other side. It was pitch black in the study save for a fire in the pit that burned brightly, illuminating the few end tables and seating areas nearby. On the other side of the fire sat Inuyasha, just as she had seen him earlier with the same hardened look in his eyes glaring at the fire. Kagome remained shrouded in the darkness, using it to her advantage to watch the man in the middle of the room. Why was she acting like a bashful child? Unexpectedly, Inuyasha's eyes moved and were boring right into Kagome's even though she hid in the darkness. _Because I feel like a stranger to this man. He seems like he's changed so much… but why?_ Kagome pondered as she moved away from the wall and into the soft light of the flames.

"Sit." A simple command, but he said it with so much authority that Kagome complied without hesitation. It wasn't until she had made herself comfy on the floor pillows before she recognized the humor in the situation – Inuyasha now commanding her to sit all these years later. The edges of Kagome's lips turned upward into a slight smile, but the humor in the situation seemed to be lost on the golden-eyed man before her. His piercing stare had moved from the fire and settled on Kagome, making her feel exposed and uncomfortable. Kagome felt like she couldn't escape his scrutiny as they sat gathered around the fire in silence while Inuyasha intently studied her. Eventually Kagome moved her hand to rub her opposite arm awkwardly and cast her eyes to the floor.

"Hello, Inuyasha." Kagome said quietly. Where had her confidence gone?

"It's Lord Inuyasha, to you." He replied without missing a beat.

Kagome's mouth twisted into a small frown. She had spoken to him minimally and he's already managed to ruffle her feathers. Maybe not so much had changed? But who did he think she was? She was not some lowly servant he could step all over. No, she wasn't a lowly servant, but she had managed to be treated worse than one. Kagome looked up at him to give him a piece of her mind but found that Inuyasha had already lost himself in the fire again. The moment was tense, but Kagome decided to settle in it for the time being until he was ready to speak. They sat in silence watching the flames dance in the pit until a loud 'pop' from the fire caused Inuyasha to stir.

"Hello, Kagome." He finally said, the warmth in his voice mimicking the heat radiating from the fire. However, she didn't miss the solemnness that saturated his voice.

"Lord Inuyasha," Kagome started twiddling her thumbs, "I don't know where to begin."

"I apologize for the mistreatment you received on your way here. I have personally dealt with the culprit and he will no longer bother you."

"Inu – Lord Inuyasha, I hurt Ryuu first it was my fau-," Kagome began but was interrupted.

"He was out of line. Ryuu should have had better judgement. He will no longer be able to make the same mistake." Inuyasha finished the conversation just like that.

Inuyasha took a long pause and decided to speak again, "Seems that you haven't changed, always worried about others and quickly forgiving your abusers."

It was true and the thought made Kagome uncomfortable.

"I'm sure you have questions for me, as I have many for you." Inuyasha said nodding at her

Kagome cleared her throat and started with one of her most pressing questions, "Ryuu, Furan and the horned man all spoke of imitations or copies of me, what did they mean?"

Inuyasha cut right to the chase, "Countless demons and dark priestesses have used different forces to pretend to be Kagome Higurashi in attempts to overthrow my rule. Attempts have ranged from clay recreations of your physical appearance with a fake soul to bewitching real women to look and sound like you. Even shape shifting demons have tried to no avail. They believed that they could get to me by impersonating you." Inuyasha explained. Kagome stared at the Lord incredulously, not believing that people had tried to impersonate her.

"Some were so powerful with dark magic that they could call upon you spirit from the future and use it to haunt me." Inuyasha stated darkly.

"Haunt… you?" she wondered out loud

"I have experienced hundreds of sleepless nights because you have haunted me in a form that I could not grasp, kill, or even comprehend." Inuyasha said holding Kagome's gaze with such intensity that she felt she did not have the strength to look away. He tried to remain impassive but Kagome could clearly see the pain etched on his face as he relived the memories.

"That is why I was hesitant to believe it was truly you when I first confronted you." Inuyasha finished, a hint of indignity in his voice.

"I am so sorry." Kagome whispered. The anger in her belly had quickly dissipated and rocks had taken it's place. Others had used her spirit to torment her poor friend and Kagome couldn't help but feel guilty. _How cruel,_ Kagome thought. The pair shared several moments of tender silence. Kagome unabashedly watched the flames create shadows that danced along the planes of Inuyasha's face.

Inuyasha swept his gaze from the hot coals in the fire and surveyed her, "Do not think this means you are cleared, Kagome. I still have my reservations about you. I am not convinced it is really Kagome that sits before me." Inuyasha accused.

"What? Who else would I be Inuyasha? I –."

"Lord Inuyasha." He interrupted again.

Kagome cleared her throat and started again, "Lord Inuyasha, I proved it was me when I told you to sit. You didn't fall, and it was good enough then, wasn't it?" Kagome defended.

Inuyasha reached into his robe and threw something through the fire that Kagome caught. She turned it around in her hand and inspected it.

"This… this is a bead from your necklace." Kagome concluded incredulously.

"After the jewel was completed and I returned to the past the necklace fell apart. I suppose our connection had been severed and there was no reason for them to remain around my neck. When you told me to 'sit' in your cell I could feel the beads come to life again. So I know it is your soul, at the very least, that sits before me." Inuyasha said.

"My soul…?" Kagome asked now confused.

"But that does not explain why you sit before me in a physical form. Kagome you cannot be alive, it is impossible." Inuyasha snapped, his eyes burning into hers.

"How could I not be alive? I'm sitting right here!" Kagome argued, her brows furrowed.

"Because no human could live and look this young for so many decades without the help of very dark magic or the help of demons!" Inuyasha shouted at her, his hands rested on his knees but they were clenched tightly.

Kagome shook her head at the young Lord, "It's been 6 years, Inuyasha. I'm only 21."

Inuyasha was much too frustrated to correct the young woman about his title, "Stop being an idiot," he barked, "I have seen many empires rise and fall, I have fought many wars, and I have felled thousands of men and demons alike. I am not mistaken when I say that this is the 150th year since Naraku has been defeated." Inuyasha was now standing, towering over the dying fire and Kagome. Something in her gut told her that he wasn't lying. Things had been so different when she finally returned to this side of the well, things that would take much longer than 6 years to happen. This was the bit of information she had been missing, this is why she had felt so confused and out of place. The air around them had transitioned from tense to deathly still in a matter of seconds.

"How can this be? Only 6 years have passed in my time. How can… I don't understand." Kagome wondered, panic rising in her chest as she suddenly comprehended the implications of a century and a half passing. Her heart began to race and she felt like she was going to be sick and faint all at once.

"If you speak the truth, woman, then I do not have an answer for you. One thing is for certain: I do not trust you – not yet." Inuyasha growled. He turned his back to her, too agitated to continue this conversation any longer. He wanted more answers but found himself faced with more questions. Inuyasha began to walk away when a strangled voice called after him.

"Wait, please," Kagome pled a little too loudly, her voice an echo that reverberated off the walls of the study, "Does this mean that - that, Miroku and Sango…" Kagome trailed off, her voice cracking as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. The fire had burned out, and only the glowing coals were left to dully illuminate his back.

Inuyasha sighed deeply, tilting his head back and looking up into the looming darkness above. He knew this question would eventually come up and he disliked rehashing those thoughts or memories. He lowered his chin and looked off to the side not wanting the woman to see his hardened face falter. His voice, however, betrayed his façade.

"They're dead. They died a long, long time ago." He said quietly. He paused for only a moment before sweeping out of the study, leaving Kagome to reconcile with this news.

Kagome did not cry that night - she _howled_ in pain. Long, choking sobs wracked her small frame and stole the breath from her lungs. She wailed and did not care that she sounded like a small child to whoever may be within earshot. Her dearest friends had died, and Kagome was some 100 years too late. And for what reason had so much time passed? She hadn't gotten an answer and probably never would. Hot tears poured down her face and she gasped for air in between sobs. This went on for a long time, and only continued when Kagome couldn't stop herself from dwelling on her memories of the madly-in-love pair. Her heart ached as she wondered what their lives had been like after the completion of the jewel. Had the two lived long happy lives with many children? Kagome sighed, her heart breaking as she realized all of their children would be dead as well. This also meant the other humans she befriended were all dead, too. _Kaede, Kohaku, Rin, Akitoki…._ She continued to weep long into the night and well into the early morning hours. Her last coherent thought was remembering that Inuyasha said about his torment.

 _Haunted by my spirit for 150 years…._ Kagome thought sleepily when there were no more tears to cry before sheer exhaustion claimed her.

Kagome awoke from the gentle shaking of her shoulder.

"Kagome, you must wake up. You cannot sleep in the Lord's study!" Misuzu hissed at the sleeping woman curled up on the floor pillows.

Kagome opened her puffy eyes and looked around in confusion. She was in the study that she could now see thanks to the morning sun light that poured in through the open windows. The room was at least three stories tall and left open and airy. Shelves that climbed to the ceiling over flowed with books, scrolls and artifacts that Kagome could imagine took a very, very long time to accumulate. Statues decorated the space of the room while skeletons of different animals, humans and demons adorned the walls. Decorative and prized weapons sporting handsome jewels and intricate designs occupied display tables and cases. Among them Kagome swore that she spied her bow she'd acquired on Mount Azusa tidily packaged away until its next use. At her feet lie the remnants of the fire and in her heart was the weight of the news she'd received just a handful of hours ago. She was rapidly consumed by a bitter sadness as she recalled last nights conversation with Inuyasha.

"Of course." Kagome said tersely as she stood and exited the study, Misuzu following curiously behind.

Misuzu led Kagome back to the prison chamber and stopped in front of Kagome's cell. Without hesitation Kagome entered the cell and sat against the wall without so much as acknowledgement toward the demon servant. Misuzu opened her mouth to speak, but quickly decided against it and chose to quietly shut Kagome's door instead.

Breakfast and lunch had been served by the nervous demon boy and neither trays nor jugs had been touched by the time Misuzu delivered Kagome's dinner that evening. She had checked on the young priestess throughout the day to see her either sleeping, crying, or blankly staring at the stone wall in front of her.

Kagome didn't have the energy to eat or drink, let alone get up, walk around or interact with anyone. She was just so _tired_. The next 3 days followed suit with Kagome preoccupying her time by thinking or sleeping the day away never turning to look at who came and went from her cell. Her fairy tale ending had turned out to be a disaster. There would be no small village life with her dearest friends. She had given each one of her friends roles to play in her fantasy: Shippo would drop in every once in a while from fox demon school with new tricks up his sleeve each visit. She would have been Kaede's apprentice and become a village priestess where she would have helped many people. Miroku, Sango, and their children would live just down the road from Kagome. _And Inuyasha – Kagome and Inuyasha's home._ Her mind agonizingly reminded her of the small detail she'd chosen to leave out. Her family was dead, her closest friends left this world a century ago, and Inuyasha suspected her a traitor. It physically pained her now to imagine the fantasy she'd constructed when she climbed out of the well a week ago. _A week ago._ Had it only been a week since she was pulled through the dormant bone-eater's well?

The door to Kagome's cell opened and she only noticed when a pair of feet were planted on the ground in front of her blocking her view of the far wall. She looked up into Misuzu's annoyed face and sighed dismissively at her.

"You haven't eaten in 3 days." Misuzu said matter-of-factly, "the Lord has decided you will pay him back for the food you have wasted." Misuzu jerked her chin in the direction of the pile of untouched trays near the cell door.

"You'll be coming with me to repay your debt, Kagome." Misuzu declared as she turned on her heel to leave. Kagome didn't respond or move from her position on the floor.

"If you do not get up and walk yourself I can arrange to have you dragged." Misuzu threatened dryly.

The better of the two options was obvious, Kagome slowly stood up and walked into the hall still refusing to look at the servant. Kagome was led into the main palace building in the court she had received her judgement several days before. Misuzu walked over to a bucket on the ground with a rag draped over the edge.

"You will scrub this entire court and the outer hallways surrounding this court. The main hall way forms a rectangle around the court, those four halls are as far as you'll go outside of this room." Misuzu ordered.

Kagome now met Misuzu's eyes and shot her a look of exasperation. Misuzu chose to ignore the woman and walked to the nearest wall and leaned against it. Kagome stared at the bucket of water in front of her weighing the pros and cons of telling Misizu and _the Lord_ to shove it. Was she not allowed to grieve in this forsaken place? Kagome dropped to her knees, dunked the rag into the cold water, and began wiping the cloth over the polished wooden floor. _I guess not_. She concluded before she lost herself in her work.

Kagome spent hours crawling across that damnable floor while Misuzu stood to the side and watched. To her displeasure, Kagome also found out she had to fetch her own clean water from an outside water source and haul the bucket back in by herself. Her back ached and her knees and arms were sore from all the work while running on little fuel. Kagome wiped the sweat from her brow with her forearm as she looked up to find the bored-looking servant who just a few days ago had claimed to be her "only friend in the entire kingdom".

"Why aren't you doing any of this work?" Kagome asked huffily.

"Because I don't take what I'm given for granted in this palace. A demon like myself wouldn't live long out there. My kind are prey to larger demons and couldn't survive while a war raged on. Lord Inuyasha was kind enough to take me in and allow me to serve him." Misuzu explained.

" _Kind?_ Yeah right." Kagome mumbled under her breath. Misuzu rolled her eyes as she left the court and returned shortly with a jug of water.

"Here," Misuzu said as she thrusted the jug at Kagome, "drink it and get back to work."

"Thank you." Kagome said suddenly feeling ashamed by her childish behavior. Kagome took several long swigs from the jug and then returned to her work without complaint.

Her work was incredibly laboring on an empty stomach so Kagome decided to pass the time by getting more answers from her prisoner-sitter.

"What is this war you mentioned?" Kagome asked while wiping the floor near the last corner of the court.

Misuzu looked up from something interesting under her nail and watched Kagome work as she explained, "I heard that you haven't been around for a while so that would explain why you don't know about the war. I don't know the politics or nothing, but all I know is that humans stopped being afraid of us demons. They've been teaming up and attacking us, even us peaceful demons. They want to get rid of all of us. I guess they're tired of sharing the land with demons and decided to kill us all off." Misuzu told.

"How long has this war been going on?" Kagome inquired

"About 120 years or so I think. It was right around the time I came here looking for sanctuary." Misuzu recounted.

"So Lord Inuyasha has been king for 120 years?" Kagome asked

"About 130, actually." Misuzu corrected her. Kagome's eyebrows raised, impressed with his feat.

"How did he rise to power?" Kagome inquired suddenly curious about what she'd missed on her side of the well.

"That is something you will have to ask me another time when you aren't repaying your debts." Came a familiar voice. Kagome whipped her head around and looked up to see the regal Hanyou not 10 feet away. Kagome looked to Misuzu who was bent into a deep bow. The servant shot her a glare and reached out to shove Kagome's head down to reciprocate her own bow.

"Kagome, you still have much work to do. I wouldn't worry about stories now." Inuyasha said inspecting the floor of his court before turning and sweeping out of the room. _What a self-important jerk!_ Kagome yelled inside of her mind where it was safe to lash out.

Kagome worked for the next several hours scrubbing the floors until she collapsed from exhaustion. It had been several days since she'd eaten and she desperately needed to fill her growling stomach. Kagome heard the pad of footsteps walk up the hall and stop next to her. She turned her head and looked at Misuzu who was pensively surveying Kagome's handiwork.

"You did well, Kagome." Misuzu complemented.

"Thanks." Kagome mumbled. Her anger had faded and she was truly thankful for the distraction this task had provided.

"If you follow me, I'll lead you back to your cell. Dinner should be waiting for you. I trust that you will not take Lord Inuyasha's kindness for granted this time." Misuzu said through a smile as she began to walk to the prison house. Kagome wearily picked her body up from the gleaming palace floors and trudged behind the perky servant.

"You know," Misuzu started while entering the prison, "You're the only prisoner that has ever received three square meals a day since I've been here. In fact, you're the only prisoner that I've witnessed being fed more than twice a week even. Lord Inuyasha must have something in mind for you, I believe." Misuzu turned to Kagome and smiled at her.

"I understand it may be hard to see his kindness but I'm sure you'll respect him soon enough. I hope you are the real Kagome, not just because you've been by far the most interesting being dragged in through the palace gates in a long time, but I hope for our Lord's sake that you are able to calm his restless, troubled soul." Misuzu continued gravely. Misuzu opened the cell door but Kagome stood and attempted to search the young woman's face. Misuzu quickly bounced back and flashed Kagome a bright smile giving away nothing.

"Have a better night, priestess." Misuzu beamed, urging Kagome to enter her cell.

Kagome walked into her cell and found a fresh plate of food and a new jug of water waiting for her. Her eyes swept across the room to find several pillows and a large fur blanket set out on the cell floor. Kagome gathered the tray and jug and walked over to the makeshift bed that had been laid out for her. She sat down on the plush mass and draped the fur over her shoulders before digging into her plate. The food was delicious and she had even received a little bit more food than the previous trays - a reward for her day of work she supposed. Kagome picked up the last bit of food left, a small slice of fruit, and inspected it as she sifted through her thoughts. Eventually she popped the fruit into her mouth and savored the last bit of tangy sweetness from her meal before lying down for some much needed rest.


	7. Chapter 7

**To address some concerns in the reviews:**

 **May (guest): I didn't have Kagome just start rattling off inventions from the future to prove who she was because I don't think that would have really convinced Inuyasha. Through the anime he does go to the future to get Kagome, but it's obvious he doesn't understand the inventions and wonders around him. It doesn't seem like Kagome ever sat down and explained what a car was, or what a sky scraper is. He often refers to her exams as "some weak demon". He didn't even know what an exam on paper was, I highly doubt he knew what an automobile was. So that's why I figured it wouldn't even matter if she started saying random inventions. She could say "trucks and gooble boxes are the future" and I don't think it would have made a difference. He can't be too careful with this!**

 **Compucles: He does have ears actually in the newest picture! I had to triple check the artist's page and picture. If you'd like to see a higher resolution version of the picture I *attempted* to post the link at the beginning of the first chapter (FanFiction apparently doesn't like URLs).**

 **The artist is "Cati-Art" on Deviant Art and their artwork is wonderful. I actually got the idea for Inuyasha's new look from a compilation of like 30 different pictures of other people's interpretation of "Inuyasha in armor" and found that Cati-Art's interpretation was very close to what I had in mind. So please check out their page! Also, enjoy the new chapter. It felt pretty shaky to me and felt pretty far off from my best but hopefully you guys like it. I think I'm just getting impatient myself because I have an idea of what I want to happen in the next chapters (:**

* * *

" _I have_

 _late night conversations_

 _with the moon,_

 _he tells me about the sun_

 _and I tell him about you." – S.L. Gray_

Chapter 7

Kagome awoke that morning to the sound of her door opening and shutting quietly. The sleepy priestess cracked open an eye and peered over her fur blanket to see Misuzu tip-toeing into the cell with breakfast. On cue, Kagome's mouth salivated at the sight of food and she propped herself up on her elbows. Misuzu laughed lightly as Kagome drowsily rubbed her eyes with the back of a hand.

"I didn't want to wake you because you looked so comfortable curled up on those pillows." Misuzu cooed. Kagome recalled how excited Misuzu had looked before Kagome entered her cell and assumed she had arranged for this surprise.

"I suppose I should thank you." Kagome began.

"For what? Breakfast? I told you that you get 3 meals a day. I'm just following orders, nothing to get sentimental about." Misuzu said waving Kagome's consideration away.

"No, for the pillows and blankets. I slept really well last night and I want to thank you for this." Kagome insisted while running her hands through the dense fur blanket.

"Oh, you're mistaken. I didn't arrange for that to happen. I don't make the plans or decisions in the palace, I just carry them out." Misuzu said with a knowing smile at Kagome's dumb-founded expression.

The moth demoness set down the tray of food and water jug near Kagome's makeshift bed and skipped out of the cell. Kagome stared at the blanket in front of her and released her tight grasp on the dark fur cover as if it'd just bit her. Irritated, she picked it up and hurled it across the room where it landed with an unanimated thud. Kagome sat against the cold stone wall and glowered at the fur, willing it to take the shape of Inuyasha's face so she had a justifiable reason to be angry at it. To her frustration, the blanket did nothing and remained the same pelt she'd been curled up in minutes before. Kagome sat like this for a number of minutes trying to stoke the hot coals resting in her belly hoping they'd roar to life. She desperately felt like she needed to be mad at something, anything, _him_. The early morning coolness seemed out to prove her a fool and sent a shiver to rattle Kagome's bones. Kagome willed herself not to give in so easily to the promise of warmth provided by the luscious fur. To her dismay she slowly stood up, crossed the room, and picked up the fur clutching it against her belly. To be truthful, this was a very lovely specimen of fur; it was heavy, burly but still maintained its soft, almost downy texture. Kagome walked back to her bed and settled into it comfortably before draping the dense fur over her shoulders and warming her chilled body. She brought the sides of the blanket to her front and wrapped herself in the pelt and nuzzled her face into the fuzz. Kagome inhaled deeply and reveled in the light scent of spice and woods that was infused with her newly acquired gift.

 _Thank you… Inuyasha._

When Misuzu entered the room again with lunch she found Kagome fast asleep again, the blanket swathed securely around her body and an empty breakfast tray by the door. She quietly laid the new fresh meal down and nestled into a spot across the room from the sleepy woman waiting for her to rise from her slumber.

Kagome awoke again, this time finding Misuzu patiently watching her. Kagome didn't move to get up, but rather stayed wrapped in the pelt as she now felt reluctant to leave it. She regarded the demon nonchalantly waiting for an explanation. When she received none, she reached out to the tray and grabbed a few pieces of fruit before slipping her hand back underneath to cover and munching on her food. After she'd finished a significant portion of her meal Misuzu excitedly clapped her hands together, startling Kagome.

"Today you shall do something other than sleep. And you have a choice, I might add." Misuzu chattered excitedly. Unconvinced Kagome cocked an eyebrow at the woman, "Either you can work or you can take a walk with me through the gardens. I see to you personally, and I think that getting you out and about will lift your spirits."

"How can my spirits be lifted when I am just a prisoner in a palace?" Kagome grumbled deciding she wouldn't fall for this sham.

Misuzu seemed to consider her question before thoughtfully raising her index finger, "but you are the best treated prisoner here." Kagome rolled her eyes and in response her fur was yanked away from her.

"Which will it be, Ka-go-me?" Misuzu teased from above, "I can take your scowl as a wish for labor? Shall I send you to muck out horse stalls or have you clean this entire dungeon top to bottom?" Misuzu chided, a playful edge to her voice.

Kagome quickly scrambled up and voiced her preference loudly. Misuzu smirked and turned toward the door with Kagome in tow.

Misuzu and Kagome strolled through endless gardens that housed every flower, tree, and herb Kagome could imagine. She was floored with the sheer amount of foliage kept in the palace and what was most impressive was that a majority of the greenery remained foreign to her. Kagome took her time gawking at the never ending beautiful flowers and smelling the potent, piquant herbs. Misuzu observed how Kagome's mood lifted instantaneously and grinned ear-to-ear. Kagome's eyes were full of life again and a touch of rosiness had even bled back into her cheeks. It was clear that a walk in the garden was what the young woman needed in order to restore her radiance. Yes, _restore_. Although Misuzu had never seen Kagome particularly radiant since she'd lived in the palace, she had an inkling this is what Kagome was like before. Now that Kagome was aglow it was obvious this was her natural state of being, Misuzu felt the urge to nurture this side of the priestess. Yes, this would be the woman to make their Lord happy, she was sure of it.

The moth demon's thoughts were scrambled when Kagome spoke to her, "I never thought Lord Inuyasha as the gardening type."

"Actually, these aren't even Lord Inuyasha's gardens. In fact, the garden's creation was commissioned by the Lord before Lord Inuyasha." Misuzu explained. Kagome stopped picking flowers and curiously looked at her friend.

"The Lord before?" Kagome asked. So this wasn't Inuyasha's palace? Had he taken the duty over or taken this kingdom forcibly?

"Yes, his name is Lord Sesshomaru."

Kagome snorted and dropped the flowers in her hand, bent over in laughter.

"If Inuyasha isn't the gardening type, Sesshomaru isn't the gardening type _tenfold_." Kagome said in between laughs. She couldn't imagine Sesshomaru, the fearsome Lord of the West, bent over a dirt plot gently nurturing flowers and waiting with bated breath until they bloomed.

Misuzu stared at Kagome perplexed, "Lord Sesshomaru had these gardens created for a loved one. Lord Sesshomaru left this palace a long time ago and Lord Inuyasha assumed responsibility in his absence. I assume you've met Lord Sesshomaru?"

Kagome had stopped laughing by this point, absorbing the new information she was given. _So he had taken over the duty, not killed some innocent palace of humans._ Kagome surprised herself, did she really think that Inuyasha would really slaughter hundreds of humans in the pursuit of power? He was rude, but he certainly hadn't proved to be blood-thirsty or cruel. He was half human himself with very human attachments, after all.

"When will I get to see Lord Inuyasha again?" Kagome asked armed with new questions for the hanyou.

"Ah, so you miss the Lord, do you?" Misuzu purred coquettishly, that mischievous glint returning to her eyes.

"No! It's nothing like that! I just have more questions is all." Kagome shrieked, whipping her head around to see if anyone had heard the servant's tease. Her face turned an unmistakable shade of pink as embarrassment washed her over. First and foremost, Kagome _did_ have questions, but to say that she didn't miss her dear friend would be a seething lie. Misuzu smiled devilishly across the walkway: Kagome had been caught.

"I'll get into contact with the young Lord right away and let him know you wish to meet with him. I'm sure he will find time to soothe your burning desire to see him again." Misuzu sang, turning on her heel and walking back to the prison.

"It isn't like that! Misuzu!" Kagome called after the servant as she chased after her through the garden.

Misuzu took off leaping and running through the flowers and greenery with ease, Kagome not anywhere close to catching her. They laughed and squealed and chased each other in the warm afternoon sun. In the distance, an irate Lord stood watching the two from a window way. His chambers were positioned in clear view of the garden and unfortunately his sensitive ears atop his head were not spared from their piercing screams. He turned away from the window and threw himself down in a chair and considered Kagome's request. He sat there awhile deep in thought, subconsciously rubbing his wrists and a scowl woven onto his lips.

Kagome was escorted back to her cell and found dinner waiting for her. Misuzu hadn't stayed this time and Kagome ate in silence and quickly fell asleep. The next day began the same way as the former with Misuzu sitting in Kagome's cell with breakfast. Kagome was informed that today she would be working in the stable and that maybe her efforts would increase her chances of seeing the Lord sooner. Kagome was led to the stables where she was introduced to a stocky older gentleman who didn't care to acknowledge her existence. He only spoke and looked at Misuzu who explained the situation to the man.

"She can start by mucking out the stalls and she better not try anything slick with me." The man grunted, flashing Kagome an annoyed glance. It didn't seem like many folk in this palace wanted much to do with the woman, let alone interact with her.

Kagome set to work mucking out all of the stalls she was directed to. These horses were definitely not the kind Kagome would find at a farm in her time nor the kind you take on a joy ride. These creatures were beasts and unquestionably of demonic nature with staggering height and bunches of rippled muscle. She sighed as a horse blocked her from entering it's stall - it seemed the horses detested her company as well. After cleaning out and re-bedding all of the stalls Kagome found Misuzu perched on a rock waiting for the prisoner to finish her work.

"Come," Misuzu said, "We can sit in the garden until it is lunch time."

The two women sat in companionable silence under a shady tree in the gardens. A gentle breeze carried the scent of flowers and herbs to Kagome's nose and she inhaled deeply. If she tried hard enough, she could pretend that everything was okay for the moment. She could forget that she wasn't a prisoner in Inuyasha's palace and forget that all of her friends were dead, but lying to herself this way only laid a thin bandage over a deep wound.

"Why does it seem like everyone here hates me? All of the demons in this palace have acted like I'm revolting scum." Kagome suddenly asked.

"It's nothing personal against you," Misuzu reassured, "It's just that with the war going on us demons are distrusting of you humans. It doesn't help that you attacked Ryuu and tried to purify him. Some demons here considered him a friend. Even if you hadn't, we could also sense your pure energy. You're dangerous, Kagome, and many demons here have seen holy persons wipe out hordes of their own kind."

"That sounds very personal against me, Misuzu," Kagome replied dryly.

The demon thought about this for a moment, "I suppose you're right." She grinned at the priestess.

"Why do you watch over me then?" Kagome inquired.

"Well I was told to do so by Lord Inuyasha and I wouldn't dare disobey him."

"Oh…" Kagome couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice. This woman was only friendly toward her because she tolerated her at the command of another.

"I don't think all humans are bad, either." Misuzu started, interrupting Kagome from her thoughts, "Before I sought shelter in this palace, my family and I were attacked by a mob of humans. These men were a part of the resistance and even though we moth demons live peaceful lives they were determined to slaughter us. They killed my entire family, but I managed to live somehow and awoke to a village woman wiping my mother's blood off of me. Afraid of me, she shoved medicinal herbs into my hand, wished me a long life and ran away. She was just an average villager and had no reason to help me, but she did what she could. I think of that woman every day even though she is most certainly dead by now, and I'd like to imagine most humans possess her same compassionate heart. "

Kagome, touched by the woman's confession, wrapped her hand around Misuzu's, "There are both good and bad humans, and there are both good and bad demons. I'm sorry what happened to you and your family. Thank you for your kindness you have shown me."

Misuzu clutched Kagome's hand and the two slipped into amicable silence once again. After a while, it was Misizu who broke the silence this time.

"I do not know all of the details surrounding your past, but I understand you and Lord Inuyasha were once close a long time ago. I know he is brash and irritable, but I urge you to rekindle the friendship you once shared."

"A long, long time ago we were close. We traveled and fought demons together with our friends – we saved _the world_." Kagome stressed, "I don't know what's happened to him but he seems different and detached. And he can be such a jerk!" Kagome fumed.

Misuzu's laugh this time was comparable to the tinkling of bells, "I understand that he might not be the same as he was, but you will understand why soon enough." Her eyes lowered and her voice dropped, "He is plagued by darkness and nightmarish circumstances. Please, give him time to adjust to your presence."

Kagome's brow furrowed and she suddenly felt an uneasiness in her gut. _What exactly is going on?_

"Can I see Lord Inuyasha?" Kagome asked now determined more than ever to get answers.

"Now is not the time I'm afraid." Misuzu replied only half-there, lost deep in thought. The seed of uncertainty planted in Kagome's gut only grew at the servant's ambiguous answers. It was apparent that Misuzu knew something but wasn't willing to share it at the time. Something was clearly not right and Kagome wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Kagome only realized the soft breeze had stopped when it picked up again, this time the promise of rain in its breath. Both women looked up and spotted several grey clouds quickly approaching. Misuzu stood up, letting Kagome's hand slip out of her grasp and began to walk toward the dungeon.

"Please, let's get inside before the rain starts. We moth demons aren't too fond of getting our wings wet." Misuzu sighed.

Puzzled, Kagome searched the woman for any indication she could fly.

Misuzu turned around, "It's just a saying we use, priestess." She explained with a wink.

Soon enough, Kagome was back in her cell seated in her nest of pillows listening to the rain lightly patter beyond her reach. She had managed to find a crevice in the stone wall large enough that she could see a small bit of the world outside. It was her own little window to the free world and she took full advantage of it. The rain came down in a constant stream and created puddles all over the palace grounds giving Kagome the strangest urge to stomp in them as if she were a child again. One thing was for certain, being a prisoner caused Kagome to appreciate the little things now – a depressing yet refreshing side effect. Night fell and unable to see through her peep hole, Kagome laid down to sleep fitfully, unable to escape her thoughts of Inuyasha.

Late into the night the rain paused its assault on the Earth and allowed its inhabitants a breath of fresh air. Outside of the palace gates, a dense forest resided still damp and dripping from the showers. The moon shone brightly illuminating the floor of the woods in random spots and blotches. On a low branch in the shadows a half-demon rests in a tree, his back supported against the trunk. One leg stretched out and the other propped up and his wrist resting on the knee, his lax claws traced indiscernible patterns on his shin as he thought. It had been awhile since he'd come out into the forest outside of his palace. Now neglected, this spot was his refuge on sleepless, disturbed nights. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, his warm breath disturbing the almost dead silence permeating through the woods. He would not sleep tonight, just like the previous nights and the nights to come.

"What ales ya, my Lord?" came a hoarse voice that bludgeoned the silence of the night.

Inuyasha winced and glanced down to see the palace healer below him gazing back up at him. He chose to stay silent and let the old woman answer the question herself.

"I don't understand why ya choose to avoid the young priestess. You had the whole palace searchin' for her for damn near 50 years, and now ya want nothin' ta do with 'er?" she jabbed.

Inuyasha clenched his teeth and growled back at the only woman who dared to mock him in his entire kingdom, "You know why, Hizuru."

"Her soul is in the right body, ya know. It's the same body you knew 150 years ago. It is the same human vessel that you carried, protected… and kissed." She said with a sly smile.

Inuyasha jumped down from his branch and landed a few feet away from the old woman, "You do not know what you speak of, old woman. I suggest you return to the palace." He said in a clipped tone, his eyes burning with anger. The old woman turned away and dismissively waved her hand at him, not wanting to tolerate his tantrum. Any other person would have had their head taken off, by now it'd be rolling around on the ground, but the woman didn't seem to pay mind.

"But I do know, Inuyasha. You forget I live off of other's pain and when I took her pain I saw a bit of her soul and saw the stories of her scars. I saw the centipede rip the sacred jewel from her flesh. I saw her feet burn in the acid of demon's belly as she helped you hold on to your last thread of control when you put a jewel shard in Tessaiga. I saw the possessed priestess Hitomiko use her blood to bind her before taking her to Hell. When I took her pain and healed her, I saw that her soul and body are intact. That body bore the exact same scars as the one you knew 150 years ago – emotional and physical." Hizuru explained facing the dark thicket of woods ahead.

"Her body could be possessed by another demon, just like what happened to Hitomiko as you mentioned." Inuyasha fired back.

The healer shook her head and disappeared into the woods, "You know as well as I do that is not the case with this one. She is powerful, more so than you might realize, and could not be so easily overcome by a demonic possession. I cannot explain why what has happened has happened, but I think you should be grateful that it did. You have a chance to save yourself now, do not throw it away." A gentle breeze blew her fading words back toward him.

Suddenly, a booming roar shook the earth assaulting his sensitive ears. Inuayasha huffed and crossed his arms while his eyes followed a magnificent white dragon emerge from the treetops and take to the skies. The dragon's wings created a wind that ruffled Inuyasha's hair and made him roll his eyes. _Damn show off._

"If you saw her pain, I'd like to know why you saw us kiss in the jewel." Inuyasha muttered.

His question did not go unanswered as Hizuru's voice gently echoed all around him, "It was painful because the priestess did not know if she would ever see you again, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha looked to the sky expecting to see the dragon but only found the moon and the darkness. He turned around and leapt back up to his branch and settled down onto it before shutting his eyes.

"Creepy old lady." He mumbled under his breath loud enough for only him to hear, not wanting the healer to answer to him again.

Several days had passed and the rain continued throughout the long days. Misuzu tried to make up for the fact that Kagome couldn't visit the gardens by entertaining her with other activities. Some days she brought scrolls or paper with writing utensils, other days she brought bids of free labor and arduous work. It had been a long week since she'd last seen Inuyasha and she was becoming restless from the lack of solid answers she received from Misuzu. The demoness skillfully danced around her answers and become vaguer as the days went by only confusing the prisoner more. Kagome didn't know if it was the relentless rain or the feeling of being stuck that had her feeling depressed, but she was thankful when Misuzu walked into her cell one day with an unusual smile plastered on her face.

"It is time for a bath, follow me." She chirped excitedly.

Kagome exhaled her relief and refrained from running out of the cell and down the hall in anticipation. It'd been a long handful of days cooped up in that room or the palace halls, she was ready to breathe some fresh air. It was still raining, more like drizzling actually, when the two women stepped outside. This didn't damper Kagome's mood, nothing could keep her from enjoying a much needed bath.

"A new change of clothes and everything you'll need are in the bath house. I'll be here." Misuzu said as she found a dry spot to occupy under the bathhouse's overhanging roof. Kagome quickly opened and closed the door behind her and shrugged off her kimono from the past week. This time she took more caution as she entered the steaming pool of water and let her skin become acclimated to the temperature before fully submerging herself. Kagome sank into the blissful hot bath water and felt her muscles unwind and the anxiety gripping her gut uncoil. This was heaven sent, it was perfect, and it was everything she'd needed after this week. She relaxed in the water for several minutes before poking around the bath things and realizing that there was more than just a towel and a kimono there. A small vase patterned with intricate floral designs sat at the edge of the bath. Kagome eventually worked the cap out of the mouth of the vase and deeply inhaled the mixture inside - It smelled serene like lavender and orchids and had a thick consistency to it. She carefully picked up the delicate vase and poured it onto the center of her head before working her hands through her hair. She scrubbed all the dirt, oil and grime from her tresses and continued to scrub the rest of her body with the delightful smelling blend. How long had it been since she'd felt so clean? This cleaning mixture most likely wasn't as effective as modern day soap or shampoo, but it made Kagome feel spotless and infinitely lifted her spirts. Kagome ducked her head under the water and ran her hands through her hair washing away the flowery concoction. She was pleased to find that although she'd wrung all of it from her hair, the floral perfume of the soap still lingered and made her smell delightful. She scrubbed her body with her hands in attempts to wipe away the work of the past week from her body's memory.

Kagome stepped out of the bath feeling like a completely new woman and bent down to pick up her newest change of clothes. She noted that this kimono was different and higher quality than her cotton, farm-hand kimono that lay discarded on the floor. This robe had a couple layers and felt like it was woven from a higher quality fabric – was it silk? The rich plum color of the kimono was eye-catching and beautiful against Kagome's striking features and complexion. Kagome called Misuzu in to help her tie the outfit together as she admired her reflection in the mirror. It certainly wasn't clothing that indicated Kagome was of high standing, but it was better than the itchy, hand-me-down, worn out kimono she'd worn for the last week. Not nobility status, certainly not the clothing of a prisoner, but she looked the part of a wealthier townswoman.

"You look lovely, Kagome." Misuzu said turning Kagome around to inspect her.

"I feel lovely, honestly." Kagome said a blush creeping into her cheeks.

"Come with me." The servant instructed as she led Kagome out of the bathhouse and into the drizzling rain.

Kagome, out of habit more than anything else, walked to the prison and waited for Misuzu to accompany her to her cell. Misuzu stood in the rain in the palace yard and pointed toward an unknown direction.

"Come on, you're seeing Lord Inuyasha today." She called out, smiling at the now flustered woman before her.

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 **Sorry to leave you hanging again - but the next chapter will reveal all. I'm super excited to get writing it and might actually get started on it later today! Thanks for reading and don't forget to favorite, follow and review! I always love hearing your predictions because sometimes some of you are right and it's so funny to me. See you in a few days!**


	8. Chapter 8

" _I've sailed seas of emotion,_

 _to wander a forest of scars,_

 _I am a dance of light and darkness,_

 _a galaxy of shadow and stars._ _" – R. Queen_

Chapter 8

Kagome ambled through the grand halls of the palace toward Inuyasha's chambers. She had gotten a glimpse of where Misuzu was taking her as they cut through the gardens on their way to Inuyasha's private rooms. Essentially, the palace was large and stately, but Inuyasha's personal rooms were actually located _away_ from the central hub of the estate. Kagome eyed a long hall that protruded from the back side of the palace and stretched over a deep ravine. This hall led to a large estate that was built into a mountainside directly across from the palace. The pair stepped inside the palace and weaved through a maze of hall ways and rooms until they stood at the entrance of the great hall that spanned over the ravine. Misuzu explained to her that Lord Inuyasha lived in the mountain side mansion and that Kagome could make the last leg of this journey on her own. Kagome pursed her lips in anxious contemplation but Misuzu was already elbowing her onto the lush running rug that stretched down the expanse of the hall.

The idea of being suspended hundreds of feet in the air made Kagome slightly uneasy and only more so as she listened to the wind cause the walls to moan and creak. The stretch between the rest of the estate and Inuyasha's rooms were well lit but did little to settle the apprehensive edge gnawing at the pit of her belly. Meticulously spaced apart were little coves where the wide hall tented out for the purpose of housing pedestals, each one holding an intricate vase or an ancient relic. Kagome was aware that this hall alone was more impressive than any museum she had ever visited. Banners and drapes of various colors and design were strewn and hung from beams above supporting the magnificent raised ceiling overhead. It didn't take more than a moment for Kagome to deduce that they were battle flags and city banners that were once carried by soldiers – a trophy hall for victorious battles, conquered cities, and slaughtered men. _How morbid_ Kagome thought as she shuddered when a cold sweat settled upon her. Kagome sauntered forward as quietly as she could, thoroughly perturbed by the aura of this grand hall that only seemed to worsen as she reached the end of it. She stood at the mouth of the long hall and found it spilled into a large room with little more than a few chairs and pedestals for artifacts. There were two doors before her: both were on the ground level one located on her left and the other located on her right. In front of her was a grand staircase that led to a landing on the second floor where a third door was situated. Kagome looked down at her hands that fidgeted nervously in front of her. _Damn that Misuzu, why had she insisted on me coming by myself? I don't know where to go now._

Just as Kagome was about to turn around and go back Inuyasha's voice descended upon to room.

"Kagome" he said, her head snapping up to meet his gaze. He stood in front of the large door on the landing, hands rested low on his hips and his golden gaze burning into her. His voice was again smoke and honey – the metaphor didn't quite make sense in Kagome's brain at the time but she just knew it was; so familiar and sweet but at the same time dangerous and foreboding. The sound of Kagome's name leaving his lips had her mouth dry and her tongue feeling crowded in her mouth all at once. He was enthralling – yet he scared the hell out of her enough that she knew not to dabble in his dark waters.

"Lord Inuyasha." She eventually greeted him, her voice throaty and breathy from the lack of moisture and oxygen coming into her mouth.

He slowly nodded at her. "You look… well." He said cautiously as if he were weighing and choosing his words with care while he inspected her appearance. Kagome uncomfortably shifted and tugged downward on the fabric of her clothing that kissed the top of her knees, suddenly aware that this kimono was ever so slightly shorter than the one before. Kagome supposed she had nothing to be embarrassed of, she did look much better than the last time he had seen her: her bruises were gone, she was thoroughly cleaned, she felt livelier, and her clothing truly put forth her best assets.

Kagome bowed ever so slightly to him, but not as far as Misuzu had instructed her to before speaking again, "As do you."

And he did. His hair was still tied in the high pony tail, but all of his armor had been removed making him seem a degree more approachable. In fact, he looked like he had retired to his chambers for the night wearing only his white, long sleeved under shirt and his red fire rat pants. Kagome had often seen him like this when he removed his fire rat robe and swathed it around her body to keep her safe in battle, but now he seemed out of place looking so casual while standing at the door of his eloquent mansion.

Kagome stood back up straight and saw Inuyasha wave her up with a clawed hand, "Let's talk." He said as Kagome ascended the stairs.

Inuyasha slid open the doors to the room on the landing and jerked his chin toward the room letting Kagome know she should follow him. The two entered the grand foyer of Inuyasha's abode and approached a short table centered in the room. Tea in a small cup had been brewed and laid out for Kagome, a small gesture on Inuyasha's part that reminded her of the other small niceties he had granted her. Inuyasha took his seat on one side of the table and mumbled something to her about making herself comfortable and having some tea. Kagome seated herself and bowed her head before taking the delicate cup in her hand and gently inhaling the aromatic brew. It smelled delicious and helped quell the bubbling paranoia within her.

The two sat a few feet apart waiting for the other to speak. Inuyasha sat cross-legged, leaning forward with an elbow perched on his knee while his knuckles rested under his chin looking deep in thought. He seemed focused on something deep within Kagome's eyes that she probably wouldn't be able to see herself. His eyes flickered as he returned from that faraway place in her eyes before he began their conversation.

"I hope you've had a decent week since our conversation in the study." He casually spoke.

"I have, Misuzu keeps me busy and has been gracious enough to take me to the gardens." Inuyasha nodded at her and she continued, "Thank you, my Lord for taking good care of me. I'm aware that it's uncharacteristic to feed, bathe, and entertain a prisoner and I appreciate it. Also, I'd like to thank you for the pillows and fur pelt, it's made my nights more bearable."

Inuyasha leaned back, stretched and flexed his hands and looked wayside, obviously uncomfortable as the target of her earnest gratitude. "It's no problem… it's the least that I could do." He said, wholly caught off guard.

Kagome finished sipping her tea and set the fine glass down on the table and regarded him openly, urging him to ask his first question.

Inuyasha met her eyes and began, "After we defeated Naraku I was unable to travel through the well. Did you seal the well?"

The intensity and good spirit of the moment was gone and Kagome scoffed.

"Why would I seal the well? You thought I'd run away?" Kagome questioned him unbelieving.

"How am I supposed to know what you would do? Your job was done: the jewel was put back together and destroyed. You weren't necessarily needed here after the Shikon jewel disappeared. Perhaps you had school to finish or you missed your family." Inuyasha concluded, prickling at her sudden informality in his presence.

Kagome opened her mouth to speak but paused as his harsh words took her down a notch. _I wasn't needed here after the jewel was completed. Surely he didn't really think that…_ "I never would have sealed you, Sango, Miroku or Shippo away from my life. Even if school or family took me in a different direction, I never would have prevented you all from being a part of my future." Kagome explained hurt by his careless words.

"Then why didn't you ever come back?" He prodded further

"I tried, I tried so many times." Kagome struggled to keep her voice even, her eyes cast to the floor. She abruptly felt overwhelmingly tired as she recalled the many trials and errors she'd put herself through in attempts to awaken the dormant well.

Inuyasha sensed the sudden change in mood and could feel the room drown in her melancholy madness. He decided to let her ask a question to keep her compliant and talking.

"How did the war begin?" Kagome asked. She had much more pressing questions at the forefront of her mind but figured she should start out as least intrusively as possible.

"The war started a little over 120 years ago. Humans were tired of being pushed around by demons and they decided to push back." Inuyasha said nonchalantly.

"And that's it?" Kagome asked, not quite convinced. His eyes flickered to hers expressing annoyance and in that moment she knew he wasn't telling her everything.

"Men in large ships came one day. They didn't look like us at all, they wore strange clothes and –"

"Europeans." Kagome interrupted while rifling through her brain to recall those Japanese history lessons she learned in high school. Inuyasha gave her no reply and continued his story.

"... They got the humans here all crazed about the idea of a resistance against the demons of the land. They convinced them to fight back and reclaim the land as their own without fear. They sold the humans new kinds of weapons and more advanced guns. A lot of demons were not prepared for this and fell victim. After defeating Naraku and Sesshomaru's absence I was looked to as a leader for the demon kind of sorts. Some think my human half give me an edge in battle against other humans. Others want to kill me for being a half demon. But I guess that doesn't matter because I'm still here, aren't I?" Inuyasha finished with a cocky smirk on his face that allowed one fang to slip from behind the cover of his top lip.

Kagome considered his tale while pensively chewing on her lip. It was certainly the Edo era as Inuyasha had said Europeans are already prodding around in Japanese business. There was a detail missing from his story she noted: what was the catalyst? What caused the humans to finally decide they'd had enough? And did Inuyasha really achieve such a leadership role in the entire war because he had defeated Naraku over half a century before? Kagome knew there was more to the story but let it slide for now and continued with her next question.

"Where is Sesshomaru?"

Inuyasha sighed, almost looking like this was a subject he'd rather not discuss but answered anyways.

"He's off on the continent. He left the palace 130 years ago." He finally said.

"But why? He's the Lord of the West and one of the most powerful daiyoukai in the entire country, why would he just leave?" Kagome pressed.

"He could not stay here any longer after Rin suffered a death of unfortunate circumstances." He said quietly. Kagome exhaled a shaky breath not sure if she was ready to hear about another friend's death, certainly not the death of the bubbly, sunny girl she once knew. Inuyasha stared off into space reliving some long lost memory with the young girl. Kagome concluded that Inuyasha must have built some sort of friendship with the girl as it seemed he dreaded recounting this. He agitatedly flexed his claws and drummed them on his leg.

"She lived here in the palace and kept Lord Sesshomaru company. She wasn't, perse, his queen, but my brother loved her with his entire being. Royalty didn't suit Rin, she'd rather swim in the lake, run through the woods or stroll through the grounds instead of ruling a country and attending stuffy meetings. I think Sesshomaru knew that so he allowed her to just be and in return Rin made him happy."

Kagome lithely smiled and pictured Rin, a young woman, still possessing the same child-like wonder for the world. She was sure that Rin did a lot to stoke Sesshomaru's sense of compassion over the years before her death and Kagome smiled wider at this.

"About 20 years after Naraku's defeat Rin fell ill. Over the course of several months she lost her strength, her voice, and then her consciousness. Her death was untimely, but she never lost her smile. My brother did everything in his power to make her happy in her last months. I think a part of Sesshomaru died along with her that day, especially since I think she was pregnant with his pups before she fell ill."

Kagome's hands flew to her mouth and she gasped. _No, no no..._

Inuyasha's mouth drew into a tight grim line as he recalled the final moments he had been allowed to see Rin. Very rarely was he allowed in the palace, but he had been able to see her a week before she passed. The last week of her earthly existence Sesshomaru had shut himself in his chambers with her refusing to let any of her last moments be spent away from him.

"That is what drove him over the edge. He disappeared for years and never came back." Inuyasha said.

"And then you stepped in as Lord in his place." Kagome finished tightly. Inuyasha nodded catching her eyes.

"Ever since he has been tirelessly searching for her reincarnation. Last I heard he was pulled by something deep within him toward the continent and he has been there ever since."

Kagome sighed a shaky breath. Searching for the light of your life every day for 130 years. She didn't know how much heaviness her heart could hold before it sank. Kagome yearned to console Sesshomaru, but she knew he'd never accept her pity. And poor Rin, such a young, revitalizing, and eternally young soul that had been taken from this world all too soon. The only solace Kagome found was in knowing that she spent every day of the rest of her life with her Lord Sesshomaru just as she'd wanted to. _Your gardens are beautiful, Rin. Lord Sesshomaru did well by you._

The two sat in contemplative silence as they both mulled over their thoughts and sorted their feelings about the story of Rin and Sesshomaru. Kagome had become conscious of Inuyasha's annoying fidgeting that became more and more distracting by the minute. His claws tugged at his sleeves and his hands rubbed his wrists as he looked off to the side avoiding Kagome's gaze. He was too restless for this simple conversation and something was quite clearly bothering him.

"Why did you come back?" Inuyasha asked breaking the silence once again, his tone clipped.

"I was pulled toward the well while visiting my old home. Even though the well had laid dormant for six years something pulled me into the well and I ended up back here." Kagome said.

"Do you want to go back?" Inuyasha inquired, his voice suddenly serious and his brows furrowed.

"I suppose not. I have nothing there anymore. My family died and I'm all alone in…. " Kagome trailed off as her eyes caught Inuyasha clenching his fists so hard his claws drew blood from his hands. "….my time." Kagome pushed aside her own anguished thoughts of her family and looked at the trembling Lord in front of her worriedly.

"I'm… sorry." Inuyasha choked out, his voice like a strangled growl now.

"Inuyasha, what is going on? Misuzu has told me that something is wrong with you. I want to help you but you need to please tell me..." Kagome pleaded with him, concern heavy in her tone. She reached out to touch his shuddering body and he stopped her.

"Don't!" he shouted, his face cast to the floor so she could not see him. Startled, she stopped with her hand in mid-air. He quickly stood up and turning on his heel he walked out of the room leaving her with a simple command, "Wait here."

To say that Kagome was alarmed was an understatement. What was going on? What had just happened? What was it that plagued Inuyasha? Kagome sat in the room for several minutes and found no indication of Inuyasha returning. Curious, she slowly rose from the floor and inched toward the open doorway that Inuyasha had disappeared through. It was on the opposite end of the room from where she sat so she couldn't see what was on the other side of the wall. She walked to the doorway and found heavy drapes blocking her view of what laid on the other side. Kagome leaned against the wall and weighed the odds of Inuyasha catching her if she just peeked into the room to see if he was okay. She determined that he would most certainly catch her and send her directly back to her cell. He might even take away her fur and pillows for openly disobeying his orders. Kagome decided to play it safe and first call out to him.

"Inu – Lord Inuyasha, are you okay?" Kagome asked. No response.

"Inuyasha?" she tried again a little louder. Silence.

Kagome nodded, reassuring herself that she should walk through the doorway to check on him. What if he was hurt or ill? He couldn't possibly reprimand her for having his best interests in mind.

She delicately pulled the thick curtain aside and found no sign of Inuyasha as far as she could see in the dark room. A large but simple, round wood and wrought iron chandelier adorning lit candles was the only source of lighting in the dim room, barely bright enough to make out the contents of the space. This had to be Inuyasha's personal bedroom she settled. She carefully tip-toed into the room momentarily forgetting about Inuyasha's well-being as she was overcome with a desire to snoop through his things. She had a yearning to deeply understand the mysterious man she presently felt stranger to. What better way to decipher him than to see his most private and individualized room in the palace?

Kagome's eyes strained to see across his personal quarters to determine that the room was fairly large and circular. Although the floor was a deep, dark wood, the walls were stone, indicating this room was built into the mountainside Kagome saw earlier. The rough walls were decorated with large weapon racks and mounted prized possessions. Kagome slipped over the nearest curved wall on her right and found a wardrobe full of Inuyasha's clothing. She fingered the armor and spiked shoulder plating with morbid fascination at its menacing appearance. Next she climbed the few steps ascending to a platform where his large four-poster bed was positioned. She ran her hand over the plush bedding and fought the desire to curl up in the soft, furry bedding that oddly reminded her of the pelt Inuyasha had given her. The entire room smelled of that same woodsy spicy scent that she found woven into the fur in her cell and she drowned in its essence. Connected above to the four posts of the bed was a frame from which deep burgundy curtains and drapes hung lazily from their supports, purposed to shield sleepers from the outside world. She palmed the soft swathes and noted how well Inuyasha's laidback but regal style was reflected in his personal chambers. Although she hardly knew him in this day in age, she thought it suited him well. Kagome walked over to the opposite side of the room and found a large dresser with marbles strewn atop. _No, not marbles_ , she realized as she rolled the round bulby object in her hand - it was his beads of subjugation. Kagome faintly smiled as she rolled the bead in between her thumb and forefinger and continued to scan the room. Her finger ministrations stopped when her eyes locked on something large mounted onto the mountain rock high up on the wall next to her. The bead in her hand fell and clinked to the floor and rolled away, a loud disturbance in the terrible silence that descended upon the room. Her eyes widened in mute horror as she pinpointed the source of the ominous, ghastly aura she had felt while approaching Inuyasha's chambers. Mounted on the wall before her was the embalmed body of a dead woman in _priestess's_ clothing. Her skin was dehydrated and strained against her emaciated and boney frame. Her eyelids were long gone and exposed her wide, gaunt eyes that stared off into nothingness. Whatever hair was left hung off of her balding head in limp strands that framed her harrowing face. Her complexion was greyed and her jaw hung slack as if caught in a permanent shriek. The priestess was fixed to the wall with perfectly straight posture but her arms were still bound behind her back with metal cuffs.

A wave of savage nausea washed over Kagome but her petrification kept her knees from buckling and emptying the contents of her stomach. She took an uneasy step back and stumbled backward onto the floor unable to tear her eyes away from the gruesome sight. Suddenly adrenaline washed over her and she quickly scrambled to her feet and turned to tear from Inuyasha's room. Rather, she smacked her face into a hard wall of flesh and fell back on the floor landing on her rear. Kagome looked straight ahead at the pair of legs in front of her and traced her eyes up the rest of the body until she met his animal-like eyes. Inuyasha's eyes were awash with red and seemed to glow against the backdrop of his barely lit room. She could scarcely see but she was almost certain that deep purple, severe jagged lines now marred his face just above where his extended fangs gleamed in the low-light. Kagome quickly scooted back across the floor until her back smacked against the dresser hard enough to cause the beads of subjugation to rain down around her. Kagome's body racked with terror against the furniture piece as she wildly looked over his body and shrunk away from him. He wasn't hurt and Tessaiga was hanging on the wall only a few feet away – this was not a normal transformation. Kagome let out a blood-curling scream as he leapt forward, grabbed her arm and threw her against the far wall. She crashed against the wall just under his weapon rack causing a few daggers and swords to come lose and fall to the ground.

"Who are you?" Inuyasha seethed, any trace of recognition absent from his demonic eyes. Kagome only had a moment to glance at a small dagger that had fallen near her foot before Inuyasha again descended upon her. She desperately cast her hand out and grabbed the first object her fist wrapped around and hurled it at him. A sheathed sword ineffectively bounced off of his chest but Kagome used the distraction to push herself to her feet and attempt to escape. Inuyasha effortlessly caught her by her throat and slammed her body against the wall underneath the mummified priestess, effectively knocking the air out of her. Kagome's hands powerlessly grasped his hand, a feeble attempt to wrench her throat free of his iron-grip.

"Inuyasha, it's me Kagome." She choked out as she struggled to fill her lungs with air.

"You lying wench!" he roared as he threw his head wildly about before lifting her body off of the ground.

"No... Inuyasha... please" She pleaded breathlessly

"I know you are not Kagome. My Kagome is dead! Reveal your true form to me so I can kill you. Any co-conspirator of Ubanaki's will die by my hand and –" Inuyasha raged but was suddenly cut off. Kagome felt the pressure on her throat vanish and her body crumple to the floor like a rag doll. She frantically gasped for much needed breath and touched her abused throat feeling her jugular pulse headily. She felt dizzy and her head began to pound as her lifeblood rushed back into her drained face.

"Go!" Kagome heard a panicked shout tear her from her stupor. She looked up and found Misuzu, her body wedged between Kagome and Inuyasha, her claws embedded deep within his neck. Inuyasha's body was still upright and rigid but his eyes were white and his pupils rolled into the back of his head. Without warning his legs buckled and he fell to his knees, Misuzu moving along with him with her nails still buried deep within his flesh.

"What did I say? Go!" Misuzu shouted at Kagome, forcing her to scramble away on her hands and knees away from the scuffle.

Kagome watched in wide-eyed terror as Inuyasha's body convulsed violently several times before he limply fell onto his side. Misuzu dislodged her blood covered talons from his neck and wiped them onto her yukata, grimacing at the sight of the Lord. Kagome's head began to spin as she observed the blood trickle down Inuyasha's neck and pool on the floor. Guards swarmed the room and dragged him away to a door hidden on the far side of the room Kagome hadn't noticed before. Misuzu turned and bristled at the sight of Kagome still sitting in the room watching the scene unfold. Misuzu barked some order Kagome hadn't quite registered and she was suddenly hoisted up and thrown over someone's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Her middle rested on the guard's shoulder and her cheek smacked against his padded back. Kagome's arms were caught by her sides as the guard had his arm wrapped around her middle effectively restraining her wrists.

Whoever carried Kagome strolled unhindered through the door, down the steps and down the great hall. Kagome could only stare and watch the Inuyasha's door shrink in the distance as the guard strode purposefully in the other direction across the ravine. She felt a hand pat the back of her thigh a few times in feigned reassurance and she stiffened as she recognized the voice of the man carrying her.

"He sure has an odd way of treating prisoners: feeding them well, bathing them, prettying them up only to pummel them in his bedroom. Lord Inuyasha sure does like to play rough with his women, doesn't he?" The voice smooth as whiskey chuckled. Kagome felt bile raise in her throat as she immediately put a face to the man: the horned leader of the search party that bought her from the city guards. Is that what everyone thought? That they were in his chambers having sex? That Inuyasha was roughing her up and having his way with her?

"No need to get all shy and tense, it's what demons and humans do." he teased as he bounced her stiff body on his shoulder, "I suppose you're lucky you were with Inuyasha and not me. I don't think anybody could have come to your rescue in time." His voice dropping an octave. The horned man's clawed hand remained on her bare thigh where he'd patted her and only tightened when she tried to shake him off.

It seemed like forever had passed when Kagome heard the familiar sound of her cell lock clicking and the creaky door swing open. She was removed from the man's shoulder and slipped to the floor where she landed on her nest of pillows. He stood there patiently but Kagome refused to look him in the eyes and chose to stare at the wall to her left instead. She heard him open his mouth to say something that she was sure would cause her stomach to churn in its vulgarity. Thankfully, a hoarse and accusing voice cut him off.

"Ya were instructed to leave 'er here, Takakazu. Ya have no reason to linger." The healer from the first day asserted.

"Of course." The horned man named Takakazu digressed pleasantly, all traces of danger and threat absent from his voice. She heard his boots stride out of the cell and the cell door lock behind him. A few tense moments passed and the woman spoke to Kagome.

"Let me see ya, child." The healer coaxed.

Kagome lifted her chin but didn't quite meet the eyes of the healer that had helped her when she first arrived in the palace. The healer's lizard-like tongue flicked out and tapped Kagome's shoulder which was followed by a series of "hums" and "I see"'s from the old woman. Meanwhile, Kagome's body shuddered as her composure began to slip and she began to cry into her hands. The shock of the entire debacle wore off and now she was overcome with misery. Why did things have to be this way? Her fairy tale dream of "the way things were supposed to be" reared its ugly head and she pushed the thoughts away from the forefront of her mind, well aware dwelling on what could have been/should have been would only stir up more anguish. The healer eventually cleared her throat and Kagome stopped her muffled cries and looked up to face the woman with tear-stained cheeks.

"I see that Inuyasha turned into a demon while he was with ya." She noted, "How's ya neck?"

"How – how do you know he grabbed my neck?" Kagome sniffled while wiping her eyes with an index finger.

"I can see an' feel your pain when I touch ya. I can pick through one's memory and explore any physical or emotional trauma they've experienced." The healer said.

"That's private though, I don't want you picking through my brain." Kagome retorted shooting the old woman an accusing glare.

The old woman shrugged off the complaint, "I need it ta live, girl. Other's pain is where I gain my strength. It's the way it's been for thousands of years."

 _Thousands?_ Kagome gathered that she wasn't speaking to any ordinary demon. "My throat is fine, I suppose." She mumbled.

"Then I don't suppose you'll be needin' me here." The healer said as she turned toward the door and interlacing her wrinkly hands together behind her back.

"Wait, healer…" Kagome shouted.

"My name is Hizuru." She replied not bothering to look at the woman on the ground.

"Hizuru, please, tell me what happened today. I need to have answers. I need to know why… why Inuyasha has a priestess mounted on his wall." Kagome pleaded desperately, hardly able to choke out the last part of her appeal.

Hizuru paused and finally turned to face the disheveled woman on the ground. "To explain what happened to ya today will mean I'll have to tell ya how all of this started with Lord Inuyasha." Kagome nodded at this in anticipation, "Which will not happen today. I am most likely needed in the Lord's chambers." Hizuru finished to Kagome's dismay.

The healer turned once more back to the door but Kagome stopped her one last time before she left. "Did Misuzu kill Inuyasha?" Kagome asked recalling the graphic image of his convulsing body and Misuzu's claws submerged in Inuyasha's neck.

The healer snorted at this and chortled, "It takes a lot more than that ta kill Inuyasha, trust me child. The moth child injected him with a poison to put the Lord to sleep is all." She said indifferently.

"Oh, okay. Thank you, Hizuru." Kagome mumbled.

"It is late. Get some sleep and I will be back tomorra to answer ya questions." Hizuru finished as she exited the cell.

Kagome laid awake for several hours that night running that evening's events over and over again in her mind. She relived every moment of the attack and the conversation leading up to it hundreds of times and could not think of an explanation on her own. All she knew for certain was that Inuyasha truly didn't believe she was Kagome. In his most raw and simplest of mindsets he had spoken what was on his mind: that he still believed she was an imposter. How could she even prove that she was the real Kagome Higurashi? Her breath caught in her throat when she wondered if the mummified woman in his room was the last "Kagome" to show up at his palace. Kagome's life may depend on proving that she is the real Kagome he knew 150 years ago. But tomorrow she'd at least have answers and after that she could begin working her way out of this mess. For now, her thoughts became hazy as the exhaustion of the day settled deep in her bones. It was well into the night before Kagome's body finally submitted to the call of sleep.

Kagome awoke that morning with breakfast waiting for her; no Misuzu. She slowly munched on her breakfast while she drowned in the incessant chatter in her brain, eager yet dreading what knowledge she would gain from Hizuru. The healer entered Kagome's cell late in the morning with a bowl and a small rag. She set the bowl in front of Kagome and instructed she use it to clean off her face and freshen up.

"Ya have yaself a nasty bruise on ya throat, girl." Hizuru began. Kagome instinctively brought her fingers up to her slender throat and tested the flesh there. She winced - It was definitely tender and sore. She couldn't imagine the savage bruise of angry blacks, purples, and blues left behind from Inuyasha's assault the night before.

"What about ya shoulder and ya back? He threw ya pretty hard against the wall." the healer reminded her. Kagome rolled her shoulders and sat up straight. Yup, that was sore, too.

The two regarded each other in solemn silence, the air in the room was thick enough to get stuck in Kagome's throat. Hizuru finally settled back against the wall and lowered herself to the ground grumbling about the ailments of age the whole way down. She finally looked Kagome square in the eyes and began to speak.

"I will tell ya about what happened to Lord Inuyasha on one condition: You must also speak ta him about it in the future. He will want ya to hear his experiences straight from his mouth, too. Ya understand?" she asked, stating her condition firmly. Kagome nodded and leaned forward, encouraging Hizuru to continue.

Much time had passed by the time Hizuru finished the tale of Inuyasha and she peered expectantly at the young woman. Kagome sat rigid, her fists balled on her knees as she stared at the floor in front of her. _So Inuyasha, that is what happened._ Kagome thought, her lips pressing into a thin line. She now fully understood what Misuzu had meant in the garden that day while talking about Inuyasha's dreadful existence. Although Kagome couldn't mask the disturbance wrought across her face by what she'd learned, on the inside she was very calm and collected. She wanted to hear it from Inuyasha. Kagome had to see him.

"I want to see Lord Inuyasha." Kagome said grimly, her voice hard and tense.

"Already? Ya must be either stupid or brave." Hizuru cocked an eyebrow in surprise.

Kagome ignored the healers comment and instead stood up and walked over to the door indicating her seriousness. Hizuru hoisted herself from the ground and came to stand by the young woman and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let 'im speak and he will tell ya all." Hizuru suggested.

Kagome nodded and followed the old woman out the door. Hizuru spoke to a guard outside in the hall and had him escort Kagome to Inuyasha's chambers. Although Kagome already knew a great amount, it was time for Inuyasha to divulge the last 150 years of his life to her.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey all – I know, I disappeared for 2 weeks. I've decided to start posting my chapters on Fridays and guess what? There was a sudden death in my family on Thursday. So I went home and took care of things at home while funeral arrangements were made and attended the viewing and funeral on Monday and Tuesday respectively. You want to know how horrible missing a measly two days in college is during your senior year? Two meetings, two assignments, an exam, and a presentation. All in 2 days. And I don't even have class on Monday (however the meetings and exam were on Monday). So I've spent the rest of the week catching up and studying for the exam I missed. Which I just took and failed. Failing that test will surely tank my grade in that class and I'm probably not getting into graduate school now (sigh, we'll see). Anyways, I came home after the test and pounded this chapter out to distract myself from the impending reality I might not go to grad school and knowing that I'm going to drown myself in alcohol tonight with friends in attempts to forget how fucked I am.

 **THIS WAS VERY RUSHED** and I'm only reading over it once. I just want to get this posted. So here is chapter 9. Even if it's sloppy I promise you'll like it. **Also, a little lemon in this chapter.**

 **IMPORTANT NOTE** : I'm pretty sure I said a few chapters ago that the war started 60 years ago? Fuck that, now the war is starting 120 years ago. I will go back and edit that.

* * *

" _I've seen my fall._

 _I shall, one day,_

 _witness my rise too." - KM_

Chapter 9

Kagome walked resolutely down the long, elegant hallway with determination ringing in her ears. The ominous aura of the elaborate hall was rendered stale and no longer bothersome to the hardened priestess. Kagome strode up the stairs as if she owned the place, like she hadn't been anxiously fluttering up them in Inuyasha's presence the night before. She walked right through the foyer and shoved the heavy drapery aside that blocked the entrance to his majesty's personal chambers. Kagome stared straight ahead at her goal: the door Inuyasha had been dragged through after his episode. She refused to look at the mummified priestess, adorned in her traditional red and white robes, which occupied the wall high above. Instead she noted that the room had been cleaned and returned to its original state: the swords and daggers Kagome had disturbed were neatly placed back in their spots, the beads of subjugation had been collected and placed on the dresser and the blood had been scrubbed off of the floor. No one would have the faintest clue that Inuyasha had turned into a demon, had an awful scuffle and nearly killed Kagome. Kagome stood in front of the mysterious door and gawked at it, her determination waning. It was interesting to note that this door was not the traditional wood and paper sliding doors typically found in Japan, but a heavy wooden and iron door that opened with hinges. Obviously this door was a much newer addition to the old and regal palace. What was behind this door? Kagome's burning need for clarification and answers propelled her hand forward to the iron door grip and prompted her to drag the door open. She paused for a moment before she stepped through the threshold and into the rocky tunnel that laid on the other side. The air was damp and much cooler in this tunnel and sent an involuntary chill down her spine. Kagome fought the urge to wrap her hands around her body and pushed forward fearlessly.

Kagome was glad that the tunnel was short and she quickly entered the hub of the cavern. It was dark and she couldn't see more than a few feet in front of her but she wasn't afraid – she was so damn tired of being afraid. Kagome grasped the still-lit torch that Hiruzu promised would be there and used it to find the other torches in the room that were bolted to the wall. As Kagome made her way back and forth across the room and lit more torches she was slowly able to see more of the cavernous room. Decorations were sparse and the room was dull and bare – a stark contrast to the rest of the palace. The contents of numerous baskets and jars lay scattered on the floor as if they'd been kicked over. Other than a few buckets and pails of muddled brown-red water, the only other noticeable detail of the room was Tessaiga gently resting against the wall in its sheath. Kagome squinted into the darkness that laid beyond the fang and she managed to spot the dull outline of a body near the back wall of the cavern. She marched to the back of the cave and thrust her fist that held the torch out so the flame only danced a mere few inches away from his chest.

"Inuyasha." She spat.

He didn't move, twitch an ear, or even acknowledge that he was listening; she knew he was. Kagome wanted to grab a fist full of his silver hair and force him to look into her eyes, but she left his head hanging toward the floor. Inuyasha was securely restrained to the wall via iron grips at every moveable joint: his ankles, knees, abdomen, shoulders, arms, and wrists. Whoever had created this set up wanted to make sure that the half-demon could not break free or harm anyone while restrained.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kagome asked angrily, her empty fist clenched at her side.

Inuyasha's ear atop his head twitched and then he slowly lifted his downcast head to apologize - at least she hoped. Rather, he granted her a most cocky smirk, "It wasn't any of your business." he said arrantly, sounding exactly as his old self. Kagome's eyes were drawn to a fresh, puffy pink scar that marred has left pectoral.

"Damn you, Inuyasha! It is my business. You put me in danger and you lied to me!" Kagome snapped back quickly.

Inuyasha scoffed in reply, "I'm sure that old hag Hizuru told you everything you needed to know." He said while shifting his eyes to look at anything other than the woman before him. He looked at his clawed hand and flexed it letting the bones in his knuckles crack against each other. Inuyasha admitted to himself that he was uncomfortable being subjected to his woman's wrath while in such a pathetically defenseless state. He'd wring the neck of whoever let her find him.

"She told me some," Kagome admitted lowering the torch and stepping closer to her friend, "but I need to hear it from you. All of it."

His eyes darted back to momentarily capture hers before shifting away again. "I wouldn't even know where to begin, Kagome. Everything happened so long ago." Inuyasha's hoarse voice was barely above a whisper.

"Just start at the beginning."

* * *

It had been an uncharacteristically long amount of time since his search parties had reported finding another Kagome look-alike. Inuyasha sighed and palmed the hilt of Tessaiga impatiently. He scowled because he knew that it would not be Kagome - he was certain that it was just another demon disguised as her. Or perhaps it was a human who had thought they could infiltrate his palace and spy on the demon Lord by pretending to be his beloved companion. Like he wouldn't be able to tell the difference from any other random village girl and his Kagome? The humans were terrified of demons, save for the rare case one of them was foolish enough to walk right into his palace. Perhaps Inuyasha would kill them on the spot, or cut off their fingers, toes, take out an eye, and gauge out their nose before sending them running back to their village to serve as an effective warning that wouldn't be misunderstood - _do not challenge me again_.

The search party with the newfound woman had arrived not too long ago and she had apparently wasted no time demanding that she see Inuyasha. He heard the footsteps of his men hammering down the hall with an air of importance that made Inuyasha involuntarily roll his eyes. Takakazu, the leader of his search parties and chief of battle operations, was completely full of himself. The man had proven himself a worthy fighter and had climbed the ranks of the kingdom hierarchy until he could be loosely considered a part of the Lord's advisory board. Takakazu often danced on the line between overstepping his authority and earning himself a swift decapitation. However, Inuyasha refrained from killing the demon, because as aggravating as Takakazu was he was also a brilliant fighter and strategist. Cunning, too - a dangerous man to be disliked by. It didn't take a genius to deduce that Takakazu wanted Inuyasha's throne and title of the Lord of the West. A lot of demons had a problem with a simple half-demon assuming rule after the great Sesshomaru had deserted his kingdom. Inuyasha did not hesitate in cutting down any demon that challenged him – he refused to allow any other demon to taint the throne of great dog demon lords. Inuyasha was fully aware that he wasn't, per se, someone that felt fiercely loyal to his bloodline but it just didn't seem right letting any weak demon have it. It had been ten years since he had claimed the throne and he still had yet to meet anyone that could remove him from it.

Takakazu cleared his throat and yanked Inuyasha from his reverie. "My Lord, we have brought to you today yet another woman who claims to be Kagome and wishes-" Takakazu announced to the court. Inuyasha wasn't listening.

This woman looked like Kagome, an older version of Kagome that wore the traditional red and white miko garb at least. Thirty years had passed since the well was rendered useless, it only made sense that Kagome would have aged like any other human. Which was different, because demons and humans in the past few years who had tried to impersonate her had failed to anticipate her aging. They presented themselves either entirely too young, still the bright eyed sixteen year old she was, or entirely too old, looking disfigured and more like that old woman Kaede. But this woman, looked exactly like his Kagome, just gracefully matured. Hell, she even breathed, walked, and talked like Kagome. But what had Inuyasha's attention was the pure energy that radiated off this woman in waves. He could feel her pure energy pushing against the membrane of the demon aura that encased him. Obviously this woman was a priestess, but was it his priestess? Never before had a priestess try to disguise herself as Kagome – did priestesses even have the power to do that? Priestesses were humans, and humans could not shape shift – what the hell was this? She was powerful, too, her aura suddenly attempting to penetrate his. Inuyasha bolted upright and tensed as he forced her aura back down.

"Inuyasha, it's been so long." She choked out. Those large, tearful, doe-eyes had him speechless.

The air in his chest caught and Inuyasha froze on his throne. He couldn't sense a demonic presence – this woman was human. The floodgates to his brain broke open and he was consumed by thoughts of her, memories they shared, and her voice. There was a niggling sensation at the back of his brain that screamed at him to go to her because _this was it_. Inuyasha's heart began to race as hope and excitement consumed him against his will which effectively silenced the logical half of his being.

Suddenly, Inuyasha's body acted on its own accord and carried him down the steps from his throne to the rest of the court. All of his subjects quickly and deeply bowed to him except for the woman who stood in the middle of the court, her hands clasped and wrists bound together in front of her. She maintained her deep and penetrating gaze into him until he stood just inches before her. The priestess dipped her head and slowly bowed to him and became a part of the crowd of bowed heads before him. Inuyasha tore his eyes away from her and looked to Takakazu who was watching the Lord from the corner of his eye while still deeply bowed.

"Take her to the dungeon. She will come to my personal chambers later at my request." Inuyasha said, only loud enough for the woman and Takakazu to hear.

"Of course, my Lord." Takakazu said quietly before barking for one of the servants. An older demon man grasped the priestess's arm and led her away from the court and toward the dungeon.

Inuyasha watched them go before Takakazu's smooth but particularly grating voice interrupted his musings, "I suppose you aren't going to gut her if you want her in your chambers later, that'd be quite messy." He sneered.

"Who said you could speak?" Inuyasha turned to the man, his lips pulled back into a fearsome snarl.

"My apologies, my Lord." Takakazu said through clenched teeth before turning away on his heel in a huff.

Inuyasha anxiously paced back and forth in the foyer of his chambers. He suddenly became hyper aware of how plain and boring his personal wing was. Ancient relics and artifacts had been left from Sesshomaru's stay, but Inuyasha's half-brother was an extreme minimalist. The walls to the entry room were bare and only a table occupied the center of the room. He remembered how homey and decorated Kagome's home was and he made a mental note to himself to have a servant add character to his personal chambers on a later date.

Inuyasha's ear twitched and swiveled as he heard the quiet pad of footsteps start down the long hall. He froze – what should he do? Go meet her? Wait in here? Why the hell was he so nervous? Inuyasha huffed and threw the door to his foyer open and waited for the miko on the landing. She sauntered into the hub of the room and bowed upon seeing him.

"Lord Inuyasha." She spoke gently

"Priestess." He grunted.

"Kagome," she corrected, "You know my name."

Inuyasha pursed his lips, reluctant to so quickly give in and believe the woman. However he was unable to ignore the fact his heart began to palpitate ferociously at the sound of her name dancing off of her tongue. Was it really her? The thing throbbing against his rib cage seemed to think so.

Kagome ascended the stairs and Inuyasha importantly strode ahead of her into the lobby of his home. From behind he heard her stifle a giggle. "What's so funny?" he huffed.

"Royalty suits you just fine, Inuyasha." Her laugh danced into his ears. Inuyasha visibly relaxed and let the corners of his mouth turn upward for a brief smile. After all these years she could still see right through his ice king act. Gods, he had missed this woman.

They sat down on opposite sides of the table and quietly observed each other before Kagome broke the silence.

"Please, feel free to ask me anything you like, my Lord."

"Where have you been? You disappeared for so long – I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

"I was attacked by a demon –"she started

"A demon? What demon was it? I could go kill it." Inuyasha finished his statement by cracking his knuckles.

"I managed to kill it a long time ago. It took me far away from the village and kept me hostage for years. Eventually my priestess powers became strong enough where I could defeat him on my own. I went from village to village serving as their priestess until I got word of a fearsome hanyou lord ruling over the land of the west. I knew it was you and I finally had a way to find you again."

Inuyasha contemplated her tale. He supposed with the well disappearing and reappearing that anything could happen – maybe she had been able to use the well again and a demon had gotten to her before he knew it? The well was complex and it worked on its accord. It was a bit of magic that Inuyasha would most likely never understand.

The two sat, enjoyed each other's company, and talked about what each other had missed in the past 30 years. Inuyasha had a small container of Sake that the two split and sipped merrily. Inuyasha told her about Sesshomaru and Rin, his battles to prove himself, and his eventual claim of the throne. She was still a good listener, and leaned forward and nodded eagerly as he told her story after story. Kagome told her tale of being a traveling village miko and recounted her most fearsome stories of demon encounters – of course she was always victorious. Her stories were nice, but inuyasha found himself mesmerized in the way her eyes crinkled at the corners when she laughed or smiled. Sure, she had gotten older, but she was still Kagome and that's what made her beautiful. And by no means was she haggard, if anything her aging had given her a sense of elegance, grace, and gentle beauty. She still laughed, teased him, and behaved the same. Nothing had changed. Gods, how he had missed this woman.

It wasn't before long that Kagome's cheeks were rose-kissed pink and Inuyasha's focus on their current affairs waned; the finished container of sake lay empty on the table between them. He found himself drowning in the depths of her dark eyes and unable to swim to safety. Without warning he stood up and walked around the table to stand before her. She stood as well, her eyes only coming to his armor-plated chest. He reached his hand out and as carefully as he could, placed it on her cheek. The skin there was heated and soft and Inuyasha wanted to feel more of her flushed, warm skin more than anything else in that moment. She responsively cupped his hand with her own and leaned her face into his hand large, clawed hand.

"I've missed you so much, Inuyasha." She whispered. And that was one of the last coherent words she said for the next while.

Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her and crushed the small woman to his chest. He buried his face into the top of her head while keeping a firm arm wrapped around her body and the other hand placed on the back of her head holding her to him.

"Kagome, you have no idea." He mumbled into her thick, dark hair. He tried to inhale her scent deeply but felt numb at the moment, like the only sense he could truly use was his sense of touch – so he did.

Inuyasha tilted Kagome's chin up and kissed her fiercely and she reciprocated obediently. The last time they had shared a kiss had been 30 years ago within the jewel and Inuyasha had feared he may never get to taste her lips again. Any shred of his control had dissipated once he kissed her neck and she mewled in response needily. Inuyasha reached down and picked her up, her legs locking around his waist immediately. Inuyasha's heart pounded in his chest; she wanted him just as badly. He haphazardly stumbled in his buzzed state to his room and dropped down onto the bed with her, their mouths still interlocked and hands freely roaming over each other's bodies. She fumbled with his chest plate ties and she tossed his obi to the side and he eagerly helped her out of her red miko pants. Once their clothes had been discarded onto the floor their hands resumed the exploration of every curve and inch of each other. Inuyasha trailed his lips down her body and was gifted her fitful cries of pleasure. He relished in the feeling of her hands entangling themselves in his hair as he brought her pleasurable orgasm after orgasm with his mouth and fingers. Eventually she pleaded him for more and he quickly obliged by sliding his hardened member into her slick entrance. He groaned as he rocked his hips into her causing her frame below him to tremble horribly. She raked her nails down his back as he thrusted into her quickly, her cries building into a deafening crescendo that only spurred him on faster. _Gods, how he had missed this woman_. Finally he found his release and spilled his seed into her before collapsing next to her.

They both relished in their post-orgasm glow in silence next to each other for several minutes. After a while, Inuyasha turned on his side and pulled her body to him still craving the heat of her body near his. She smiled before they both fell into a peaceful deep sleep together. Inuyasha didn't know when he had last felt so at ease and peaceful in his slumber.

It was hours later when Inuyasha woke and found Kagome still wrapped in his arms, fully awake and staring at him. She stroked a hand down his face tracing his set jawline before turning on her side away from him. He propped an arm up and rested his head on his hand.

"Hello, Inuyasha." She mumbled coyly. Of all times, now she decides to be shy? Inuyasha couldn't help but smile at this. He idly dragged his claws over her hip and along her ribcage as he thought. He still had so many questions to ask her.

"Have you had any other lovers?" he asked.

"No, only you. I had faith that one day I'd see you again." She said burying her face into the pillows embarrassedly. Inuyasha smirked triumphantly and asked his next question.

"How did you get the well to work again?" he inquired. Immediately her body stiffened and, alarmed, he removed his claws from her skin.

"The well?" she asked unsurely.

"Yeah, the well. It stopped working after you went home." He clarified.

"Oh, the well. Some of the townsmen dug at the bottom of it and found a fresh aquafer of water just beneath. Now my village has water, so there's no need to worry." She said while waving a dismissive hand. Inuyasha dropped his hand and sat up and stared at Kagome's back.

"What are you talking about? That well has never had water in it." Inuyasha said slowly, his brow now furrowed. The woman sensed the shift in mood and turned around to face him.

"A well without water? What else would a well be used for, darling?" she laughed nervously while searching his face for any signs of amusement.

Inuyasha slowly removed himself from the bed and put his fire rat hakamas on. Something was not right. This woman was not right. The room began to spin around him as the blood pumping through his body collected in his head and roared in his ears. This was Kagome, it had to be Kagome. Everything had been right about her. This had to be a misunderstanding. Inuyasha made his way over to his dresser and scooped something off of the surface before rushing to the bed again. He shoved something into the priestess's hands and commanded she look at it.

"What is that? Tell me what that is." He shouted at her, panic rising in his voice. The woman peered down and the dark round bead he'd thrust into her hand.

"It's… it's a bead." She stammered, clearly frightened by his seemingly random outburst. Inuyasha felt a wave of nausea wash over him.

"What is its purpose?" he yelled, his body trembling.

"I… I…." the woman stumbled before falling silent. All inhibition left Inuyasha at that moment as he threw her from his bed onto the ground.

"Who the fuck are you?" he roared at the woman lying in a heap on the ground. She then slowly stood up and cackled at him before sweeping her long hair to the side revealing her changed appearance.

The woman was suddenly much younger with long dark hair that was tied back away from her face in a tight pony tail. Her lips were set into a menacing grin and her eyes were sharp like a lynx – she looked nothing like Kagome. Inuyasha felt the strange woman's aura flare and push against his own pulsing demonic aura. He quickly noted that her aura was not as pure as it was before and could very clearly feel the evil air swelling into the room. The woman bent over and snatched her miko robes from the floor and began dressing herself while 'tsking' at him.

"Oh Inuyasha, we were having so much fun. You should have just remained clueless and made this easier for me. It was all so easy in the beginning, being brought right into the heart of your court by simply disguising myself, saying a few sweet words, and dulling your senses – look how far I've come. I suppose I should be thankful you're only a mere half-demon, it made the tricky parts of this whole ordeal so much simpler. A _real_ dog demon could have sniffed me out instantly." She prattled while searching the pockets inside her robe. She found what she was looking for with a gentle 'ah' and dropped a sutra dusted in a back powder to the floor before smashing it with the heel of her foot and breaking it to pieces. Inuyasha suddenly felt like a fog had cleared that he hadn't even been aware of in the first place and the scent of the woman filled his nose. He exhaled in disgust – definitely not Kagome.

"How dare you pretend to be Kagome!" he shouted. "You aren't even a real priestess. Only demons can change their appearance and I can feel that your aura is tainted by a demon." He spat in disgust.

"I am a real priestess. My name is Ubanaki of the Eastern valleys and I've come to dethrone you, Inuyasha. The days of fearing demons are over. I will kill all of them and you will be made an example of." She declared with a wicked grin.

"You want to rid the world of demons yet you accept the help from a demon? You're a coward and let a demon possess you because you're too weak on your own!" he sneered.

"How dare you! I am Ubanaki and cannot be possessed so easily by a weak demon. I have only used this pathetic being to change my appearance and infiltrate your palace." She hissed at him, venom dripping from every syllable.

Inuyasha snatched Tessaiga from its place against the wall and drew the large fang from its sheath and pointed it straight at the possessed priestess. "That's fine by me, wench. I have no problem sending you and your demon to Hell. You'll pay for what you've done."

Ubanaki cackled and clasped her hands together, her index fingers pointing to the ceiling and brought them to her lips and began to chant in a language Inuyasha couldn't understand. Her aura pulsated and Tessaiga responded in the worst way possible: it shrunk back to its rickety, dull-bladed form.

"Tessaiga!" Inuyasha shouted in disbelief while inspecting his sword. Even while tainted by a demonic aura, this woman was _still_ powerful enough to diminish _other_ demonic auras.

"Your demon fang is no match for me. I have been trained my whole life for this very moment. I was raised by only the best priestesses and monks for the sole purpose of overthrowing the demon regime. Today is the day you die, Inuyasha!" She cried, her power of her aura increasing ten-fold as she began to chant louder. Her uncontained power exploded and the blast sent Inuyasha hurling through the air and against the wall. The purity of her aura sent white lightening heat tearing through his body and attempted to expunge his soul. He knew the entire palace could feel the aura and was aware that ever demon knew what was happening, but he was also aware that nobody could come near his chambers. A full-blooded demon coming anywhere near Ubanaki's force would be instantly purified. Somewhere in the room he could hear the ringing cries from Tessaiga as the fang was unfortunately caught in the purifying blast. He couldn't move or defend himself, he could only take the deadly attack head on. He had let his guard down and invited the one being that could really harm him right into his bedroom. Demons were no match against purity and he'd signed a death wish.

His death would be a slow and agonizing one as he was half human as well. This power would not instantly disintegrate him to ash quite like it would for a demon, Inuyasha had a human side of him. That human half would be unaffected by the pure light and would make him hang on until the end.

 _Damn humans and their desperate desire to live…_ He thought half-heartedly as he watched the skin tear away from his hands. Inuyasha looked up and squinted into the nearly blinding light that swallowed the priestess. The pure energy swirled around her in a violent whirlwind of unbridled power uprooting everything in the room and sending it flying in chaotic madness. Yet, Inuyasha was just scarcely able to see the threads of demonic evil woven into the churning winds. She was tainted by a demon, this was her weak point and the only chance of survival the half-demon had. Although her aura kept him pressed against the wall, Inuyasha had the strength to reach out his hand and feel for Tessaiga. He clenched a fist on the hilt and brought it up to his shoulder. He only had one chance, he had to time this perfectly. Inuyasha's hand trembled as blood poured down his raw and cracked limbs. He had to do this now before she truly purified him.

Inuyasha threw the sword with all his might right at Ubanaki. He mumbled a few words of apology when Tessaiga rang louder as it neared the perilous source of power and disappeared into the light. Suddenly, it was quiet and the chanting stopped. Then, a blood-curling scream pierced his ear drums and dhe knew he'd been successful. Inuyasha watched in awe as the winds slowed and the light began to slowly die. He did it. He had managed to launch Tessaiga through a patch of demonic darkness that had been woven into Ubanaki's force. The light was still too bright, but whatever invisible force that had kept him plastered to the wall finally lessened. Inuyasha struggled to a standing position, the loose, torn skin hanging from his bloodied feet and squelching under his weight as he stalked over to the priestess. Inuyasha shielded his eyes from the burning light as it dulled before finally burning out.

Ubanaki stood in the middle of his room incredulously staring down at the enlarged fang lodged deep in her belly.

"I… I don't understand. I was going to… kill you." She stammered as blood stained her crisp white top and flushed down her legs where it collected on the floor.

"Your mistake was letting a demon aid you. It created fissures in your pure energy, allowing Tessaiga to pass through and steal the energy from your demon. The energy was just enough to allow my sword to transform. Using a demon was your downfall and destruction. You should have known this would happen if you were half the priestess you claimed to be." Inuyasha croaked gravely. He could admit that she was incredibly powerful, no doubt. But her greed and desire for power is what attracts parasitic demons – it'll use its host's desires to drive them to their eventual destruction. All humans that accept the help of demons are exploited and savagely killed, this priestess was no exception.

"I was just trying to save the human race… I thought –" Ubanaki wretched as Inuyasha tore his blade from her stomach. The woman fell silent, dropped to her knees, and stared off into the distance past Inuyasha's shoulder. In that moment he observed that the woman's withering aura was washed clean with a vibrant pink light. The demon was leaving her dying body as she was no longer considered sustainable. Ubanaki was once again pure. Inuyasha saw the inferior, vile demon wrench its way out of her body and he effortlessly cut it down. At some point the demon must have seen Kagome and used that to recreate her image.

"Ubanaki," his voice dropped to a dangerous rumble, "You will die by my blade and I will send your body to the village from where you came. Your masters will find it there in the morning with my name engraved into the flesh on your back. Do you understand?" Inuyasha pointed the blade at the dying woman's throat.

Ubanaki's fading eyes sluggishly swept over to meet Inuyasha's and held them for a long moment before she spoke. "I curse you." She whispered so quietly he nearly missed it.

"What?" Inuyasha said startled, completely thrown off guard.

"I curse you," she started again, slightly firmer this time, "I curse you to walk this Earth until you find this "Kagome" you search for and convince her to love you." Her voice now climbing a steep crescendo and her eyes wild. "As you said, demons are the destruction and downfall of us humans. You will spend restless days and sleepless nights until that woman loves you! You will lose yourself to your demon half the longer you go without her love!" she cried out hoarsely.

Simultaneously Inuyasha watched the dying priestess's newly pure light turn into a murky black haze and felt his own demon aura unmistakably pulse. _This can't be happening, for a priestess to curse another person means she'd have to sacrifice her purity and become a dark priestess._ Inuyasha thought incredulously. But the rapidly healing wounds on his hands and the elongating claws confirmed a dastardly nightmare: she was in fact cursing him. In her last breaths she would do whatever she could to harm him – she was using the last weapon in her arsenal. Ubanaki was willing to damn herself in order to exact revenge on the half-demon. He would become immortal and slowly lose himself to his primal demon instincts as long as Kagome didn't love him? But, that meant…

"Yes, it's already been 30 years. You don't have much longer, Inuyasha." Seemingly reading his mind, Ubanaki rasped before coughing up blood, "Who knows if she's even alive? You will live out the rest of all time as a treacherous, animalistic beast. And even if you do find her, a priestess could never love a vile demon that you are destined to become. I curse you." She finished by spitting a clump of blood at his feet.

Inuyasha felt his fangs push further from his gums and exponentially elongate and he howled. Blood red seeped into the corners of his vision as he cut the priestess's throat with Tessaiga, sending her life blood splattering all over the room. Her mouth hung open and her eyes remained wide and empty as her lifeless body fell away from him and crumpled to the floor. He dropped the blade and pulled at his hair and raked his claws down his face before releasing a thundering roar. Ubanaki was right, Kagome could be nearing her death as she aged or might even already be dead - there may never be a chance to undo this curse. Inuyasha smashed and destroyed everything in the room before he once again laid eyes on the dead priestess. His blood wrathfully reverberated in his ears as he slammed her corpse against the nearest wall and stuck a random sword through her throat once again and wedged it into the rock wall behind. He left her like that, hanging in his room as a stark reminder of the source of his fury and hatred. He would not send her body back to her village so she could receive a proper burial; he knew that's what she'd want. He knew he couldn't truly reciprocate her actions, but he would curse her body to remain in the very place she was cut down in; a demon lord's lair. She would remain mounted to his wall for the rest of eternity along with him.

* * *

"All I remember after that was servants breaking down my door to assist me. In my demon state I just killed them, too. I was unable to see any difference between friend and enemy. After I escaped the palace I apparently went to the Eastern Valley and slaughtered, disfigured, and maimed every living being there. That continued for five days and five nights before my body wore down. Takakazu and his men were able to… apprehend me in my weakened state and bring me back here." Inuyasha spoke in a low voice, recounting his demise.

"And that's how the war started? Because you had killed so many people and they decided to retaliate?" Kagome clarified, her voice cracking from its lack of use for the past hours.

"Yeah, it makes sense that people would get pretty fired up after ripping the limbs off of the most respectable priests and leaders in that region. They got fired up and began working with the foreigners to fight back." He laughed half-heartedly to himself. "The demons of the palace still accepted me as their leader, and other demons fell in line behind me as well. I was the catalyst of the war and they were eager to follow my example and kill as many humans as possible. I don't actively participate in the war or send demons out to exterminate humans, I just try to keep the demons from attacking random human villages. But I do not stop them from defending themselves or carrying out acts of… self-preservation. But we didn't anticipate the humans gaining access to advanced weaponry and tactics – they're a threat to us now and know how to fight back." Inuyasha finished.

"And how do you revert back to your half demon state?" Kagome asked. This was her final question that Hizuru would not answer.

"They kill me." He replied simply.

"But Ubanaki cursed you to be immortal how can –"

"I am immortal. I can still die. I just always come back to life. There is no way to keep me in the underworld. I can see them all, all of the dead souls caught in the netherworld. They always swarm me and cling on to me because they know I'm not truly dead. They suffocate me until I'm thrust from the darkness back into the world of the living. Whenever I get out of control someone has to thrust a sword through my heart." He explained, nodding over to where Tessaiga leaned against the wall. "I won't let any other blade stop my heart from beating." He whispered.

Kagome let her eyes fall to the fading pink scar on his left pectoral while simultaneously striking down her desire to reach out and run her fingers delicately across it. She looked back up and found Inuyasha searching her intently, his molten amber eyes burning holes into her. She looked away from him and stood from the spot she had kneeled on during his tale.

"Thank you, Inuyasha. I have a lot to think about." Kagome said curtly as she turned away from him.

"Wait," Inuyasha stopped her before she walked away. Kagome only turned enough so she could peer at him from the corner of her eye. "Please, let me see your throat."

Kagome turned back toward him and held the torch up to her chest before brushing away her thick, dark locks away from her neck. She exposed an angry black bruise in the shape of a hand that swallowed the fragile body part whole. Kagome noticed Inuyasha's hand flex and reach forward against his restraint as if he desired to touch the area, as if that would erase the damage. Kagome dropped her hair, lowered the torch, and turned away again.

"Do you even remember attacking me?" Kagome queried.

"No, I don't. But I'm sorry." He said earnestly.

And with that Kagome exited the cavern leaving the cursed Lord to wrestle with his transgressions alone.

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 **PLEASE read, review, and follow/favorite. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter (;**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm alive, everyone. I could give you a rundown of what's going on in my life but I know nobody really cares. I'm not giving up on this story, I've just been busy and I struggled to write this chapter. I kind of avoided writing it and procrastinated because inner monologue isn't my forte. I've actually been writing a little bit every night on the 'Notes' app on my phone. Today I finally emailed it to myself, put it on word, and reviewed it. Trust me, there's a lot of writing mistakes made when you're typing at 1 AM in bed. I definitely could have made this chapter 4,000-5,000 words longer to make up for the fact I disappeared for damn near a month and a half but I don't have the energy to get that done today. So I'm just cutting it off before I get into the next part because I'd rather get this chapter off of my chest. Thanks for everyone's patience!**

* * *

" _She was free in her wildness_

 _she was a wanderess,_

 _a drop of free water._

 _She belonged to no man and to no city."_

Chapter 10

"What a nice day." Kagome sighed to herself. She sat, perched on a small hill under a tree in the palace gardens. It was mid-day and the sun was high - the warmth of its rays tickled her pale skin. She bent her legs at the knee, wrapped her arms around them, and rested her chin on her knee to get a better look at the ghostly white skin of her arm. Kagome had lost her cherry and tan kissed complexion and had exchanged it for a duller, whiter shade.

"I should really get out more." She mumbled into her forearm. Kagome hadn't gotten out much since the accident. It was so much easier to hole up in her small college apartment and sulk by herself. After her mother's and brother's deaths she struggled to find the energy to even get out of bed. Depression, the doctor had said, was what made her feel like the hollow ghost of who she once was. Tasks such as eating and combing her hair were sometimes too strenuous to bother with and she opted to sulk in bed with the curtains drawn. Some days were better than others and Kagome could work up the nerve to go to the convenience store across the street and pick up some simple ingredients for a decent meal. She'd open the package of noodles, dump them into a boiling pot of water, and discard the box next to the overflowing trashcan filled to the brim with empty freezer meals. She'd open a bottle of red wine and pour it into the red sauce simmering on the stove top, and then turn the bottle to her mouth. It was always the same: she'd walk away from the prepared food and drink the entire bottle of wine in bed rather than eating her food. The food would sit there untouched for the next handful of days but Kagome could never bring herself to care.

In an effort to shut out the outside world, Kagome worked it out with the university to allow her to finish her degree online. She'd sit, slouched over her desk and listen to prerecorded lectures and read endless pages from textbooks. _Mama would have wanted this_ she told herself while ignoring the bottom of her heart that cried _Mama wouldn't want you to live and grieve like this, though!_ Her grades were passable and found that school work was much easier when she wasn't traipsing all over feudal Japan. It hurt to think about the feudal era and the friends she'd left behind. But something, or someone had decided that her usefulness was over and effectively closed that chapter of her life. It was best to move on and focus on her life. Before she knew it, just like that Kagome was stumbling into her final year of university.

Things had been looking up for Kagome leading up to her final year of school. Staying home all day and not working allowed her to double down on course load and finish early. Her three girl friends from earlier days had moved into Kagome's area and with gentle insistence, coaxed her to get lunch with them. She sat quietly at the table with Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka while the three girls chatted about their new lives in the workforce. If they knew about Kagome's family's demise they didn't mention it, but instead encouraged her to talk about school, boys, and gossip like old days. They eagerly brought up Inuyasha, Kagome's bad boy boyfriend, but bit their tongues when she moodily looked away and stiffened.

"Oh, you know that's not what's really important anyways," Eri quickly rebounded, laughing awkwardly.

"Maybe it'd be best for Kagome to go out and meet some new people. Weren't we planning on going to the bar tonight?" Ayumi noted, tucking a thick lock of curly hair behind her ear.

"We don't want you to push yourself, Kagome." Yuka reassured, "You've been through a lot and we don't want you to feel like you have to come with us." So they knew. Kagome sighed. Of course they knew. Even if Eri wasn't a news reporter, Kagome was sure that their parents would have called their respective children with the grisly news.

This is the first time Kagome had left her apartment for more than an hour in almost two years and quite frankly she was exhausted. However, she couldn't deny how nice it felt to have human interaction again. She still had friends and Kagome would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy spending time with them. So weekly the girls met up and had coffee, lunch, or tea and Kagome genuinely began to enjoy spending time outside of her apartment. Getting out of bed became easier and opening the heavy curtains became more frequent. Going out with the girls slowly but surely became less tiring and Kagome started looking forward to their little get-togethers. The three girls understood that Kagome needed to take things slow so they never pushed her to do anything outside her comfort zone. She didn't accept the first time they had brought it up, but eventually Kagome was up to try going to the bar.

"Ahem… Kagome. I have brought you something to eat."

Kagome glanced up at Misuzu who held a tray of food in her hands delicately. Kagome nodded at the servant and gave the woman a half-hearted "You can stay if you want". Misuzu quietly sat down next to the lonely woman and waited for her to speak.

Kagome restlessly pulled at a long blade of grass and pulled it apart at its veins until there was nothing left. She reached for the next blade, "I haven't seen you around much lately."

Misuzu let air fill her cheeks and awkwardly exhaled from the corner of her lips, "Yes, well, things are different now. We weren't counting on what happened a few weeks ago to... happen."

Kagome shredded another blade, "So Inuyasha had you stop visiting me?"

"Lord Inuyasha suggested that we give you space. Apparently you like to have time to yourself to think, otherwise you upset easily." Misuzu corrected.

Kagome huffed – he was right. He had been keeping her best interests in mind even if three weeks was a little extreme. Kagome reached for a handful of grass when she felt Misuzu's small hand stop her. The servant wrapped her pale hand around Kagome's and squeeze, "I haven't avoided you, Kagome. I understand this situation is a lot to absorb and likely wasn't what you were expecting."

Kagome avoided Misuzu's eyes and chose to direct her attention to the moth demon hand clasping her own. Funny how before she had never noticed the razor-sharp, yet delicate claws attached to her fingers. She supposed they were nothing extraordinary, most demons did have sharp claws or talons so it made sense that she didn't take note of it. Now, she felt like she couldn't not notice them, knowing that one prick would likely send her into a coma for the next year.

"You never told me that the sand man stored the good stuff in your hands." Kagome said dryly.

"I beg your pardon - the what?" Misuzu inquired.

"Nothing. I just didn't know you could put people out by poking them."

"Oh. Well, not all of us moth demons can. Lord Inuyasha doesn't just keep me around because I'm great at cleaning floors." Misuzu joked.

"So is that how it goes? He loses his control, you put him out, and then someone puts Tessaiga through his heart?"

"I'd assume so, yes. I don't stay around for the... departure. If I'm not around then the Lord will usually retreat to his chambers and they can go straight to using Tessaiga. But we try to put him to sleep first to limit the pain." Misuzu explained.

Kagome tried to imagine if she had the guts to allow someone to stab her through the heart while knowing that she'd come back to life. She didn't suppose she could. It's not the death that would scare her - she'd just come back to life. It's the experience of having a blade shoved into your chest while every instinctual thread and fiber of your being screams at you to _not_ do that. It doesn't take more than one ancestor to know that you probably should avoid being caught in that situation.

"So does he know when he's about to lose control?" Kagome asked

"Often enough there's a fair warning that he is about to shift and Lord Inuyasha is able to remove himself from the public eye. I'm usually made aware of this fairly quickly and I'm able to put him out before he shifts." Misuzu paused but quickly continued when she spied Kagome's brows knit together, "I'm sure he was aware of his unstable state before he transformed. But knowing you are the key to breaking his curse may have caused him to act recklessly and test the limits."

"In other words, he thought that I loved him enough to break the curse." Kagome stated plainly.

"Er... well... yes. And it doesn't seem like that's the case." Misuzu navigated over her words awkwardly. Kagome didn't miss the slight sag in Misuzu's shoulders. "This might be too bold of me, but didn't you and the Lord have a past?" Misuzu pried.

Kagome turned and looked at the young woman painfully before shifting her attention back to the expanse of garden before her.

"Key word: past." Kagome simply said. She knew that Misuzu wanted more of an explanation but she didn't press the matter. It would take a lot of emotional energy to divulge the complexities of her relationship with Inuyasha. Yet, strangely enough, she did anyways. She suddenly began recounting how Inuyasha was in the beginning: selfish, stubborn, temperamental, and confused. She admitted that eventually she had developed a soft spot and even feelings for the troubled half demon even though her developing feelings seemed unrequited. She vocalized how horribly it had hurt to be cast aside for his past romantic interest over and over again throughout the majority of their journey. It wasn't until their last moments together they had finally been open about their feelings with one another and shared a tender kiss within the jewel. And then he was gone for 6 years. Whatever openly romantic relationship they had was built on a shaky and thin foundation, Kagome explained. Perhaps if they had more time, or their intentions had been clearer sooner would they have had a stronger tie with one another. They had a wonderfully strong and persistent friendship and deep trust for one another, but that was the foundation to a different house. Their friendship and trust had been put to the test by the jewel but they believed fiercely in one another until they were reunited after 3 days of being alone in the darkness. There was no doubt in either of their hearts they would fail because their friendship was unbreakable. And then they shared one single embrace and kiss together - and that was the extent of their romantic relationship.

Misuzu nodded solemnly. She understood. In any fairy tale six years could've passed and Kagome and Inuyasha could have picked up where they left off.

"Oh my dearest love, Inuyasha. Oh how I've missed you so." She could have said, her eyes sparkling and hands clasped together.

"My sweet flower: my heart has yearned for you every night since we parted." He'd loudly proclaim as they ran into each other's arms.

But this wasn't a fairy tale. Feelings fade after years of separation - especially if there wasn't much to go off of. The two had a great friendship and strong bond with one another and Kagome deeply cared for him - no amount of time could change that. The journey for the sacred jewel and meeting Inuyasha was undeniably the best thing that ever happened to her. But the seed of romance between them had just been planted before they separated, then it was never watered again. Kagome kept hope and the giddy butterflies in her belly remained as she often recalled that first and only kiss. But as time passed on Kagome lost hope and the foundation cracked and crumbled.

Furthermore, it would be silly to pretend that there weren't other men. After a couple of years had passed Kagome was beginning to fear that she'd never see Inuyasha again. College brought a flurry of exciting experiences and new people and also took Kagome hours away from home. For the first time in 3 years she did not check on the well every day. Everyday became every weekend, every weekend became once or twice a month. In the meantime Kagome busied herself with her studies, friends, and a couple boys that showed interest in her. And then the fire happened and there was no more visiting the well.

Kagome met him at a party her first year. She had come with her friends that night - something about a friend of a friend's party just across town. The room was lit with black lights and various neon dancing strobes that made the scene look chaotic to the sober eye, but entrancing to the drunken one. Kagome had been to a few house parties, but none quite this large or crazy. Even though the room was packed with dancing, gyrating bodies he still stood out among the rest. She spied him from the other side of the room where he leaned a shoulder against the wall, idly chatting to a friend. His eyes swept across the room and connected with hers for a few moments before she looked away - she had been caught. How embarrassing.

Olle was his name, a name native to Sweden he explained when he approached her later that night, a drink for her in his hand. She slowly sipped the sweet drink while he explained in broken Japanese that he was only in the country for the semester to satisfy the requirements for his university international business program. They spent the night slowly drinking and chatting away from everybody else. He asked her questions about herself and in turn she teased him about his broken Japanese and ran her fingers through his messy, blonde quiff cut. He had the most sincere green eyes and she adored the way his nose crinkled when he laughed at something she said. Kagome came with her friends that night but left with Olle. A few drinks didn't have her drunk, but certainly had her more courageous than she usually was. Olle, on the other hand, was fairly tipsy. The way he lazily wrapped his fingers between hers and laughed too loudly on the way back to his place was proof. They walked easily together hand-in-hand while he tried his best to describe the nightly sea of stars and northern lights his home country.

They laid on his bed, his arm under her head and draped over her shoulder. "Tell me about Sweden and your hometown" she had said, the edges of her voice only a little fuzzy. He launched into stories of his childhood and even pulled out a photo album containing pictures of home from under his bed. At some point during his slurred tales of home, Kagome had relaxed on his arm and even placed a hand on his abdomen.

"You seem stiff and unsure, Kagome." He had said after closing the photo album. It was the early hours of the morning and Olle sat up, cross-legged on his bed and pulled Kagome up with him to sit across from him. "Why is this?" Olle prodded. Kagome laughed, her head swimming with the sudden change in position, but she noticed he was not laughing. Rather, his bottomless green eyes captivated and held her hostage.

"His name is Inuyasha." She blurted for a reason she couldn't quite pinpoint, "At one point I guess you could say I was falling in love with him. I haven't seen him in a long time."

Olle seemed to contemplate this before swiftly moving his face centimeters away from hers. He placed two fingers under the tip of her chin to lift her head, causing her lips to nearly brush against his own. "He is not here now - just me." Olle whispered in the first string of perfect Japanese he had spoken that night.

Kagome's heart hammered in her chest and her stomach did somersaults at a dizzying pace. Her chest rose and fell quickly as his own breath danced across her cheeks. But he did not move, only stared into her eyes until he faltered and looked down at her lips. He bit his own lip and shifted his stare down to the bed. Moments later he gently positioned a hand on either side of her head and placed a long, tender kiss on her forehead. Olle pulled away and flopped down on his bed again, laughing and pulling Kagome with him, and wrapped his arms around her. Sighing contentedly, she relaxed and melted into his arms for the night. She idly traced patterns on his chest and he smiled down at her. Kagome felt Olle play with a lock of her hair before lazily mumbling "God natt, söt fågel" (Good night, pretty bird).

Kagome woke up that morning and was dealt the task of extricating herself from underneath Olle's arm and leg that had been thrown over her body. She took one look at her mussed hair and smeared eyeliner in the mirror and sighed. She spied a washcloth and bar of soap neatly placed on the edge of the sink, a note on top that read "Kagome". Kagome wiped the traces of the night before from her face and placed the cloth and soap back on the sink. At some point in the night Olle had woken up to set the offering out for her. She walked back around the corner and found Olle still sleeping, his wild dirty blonde hair just as mussed as hers had been. She reached for the door and opened it, and just before closing it behind her she looked back and saw Olle's eyes still closed but the hint of a smile gracing his lips.

There were other, less remarkable men that had passed through her life. Sometimes she found them at parties, sometimes in class. She'd often share a kiss with them or dance with them if she liked the song that was playing. She only slept with one of them that first year, a particularly attractive young man who was an accomplished smooth talker and knew all the right spots to touch. Kagome made the mistake of falling for him after their risqué encounter but quickly learned the etiquette of "hooking up": no time for feelings, only sweaty bodies moving in synchronization. The next time was years later on that night that Yuka, Eri, and Yumi invited her out to the bar. Kagome ended up in her own bed with a rather average man that was clearly more nervous than she was. This became an every-once-in-a-while exercise: going to the bar and taking home an unmemorable man for the night only to kick him out in the morning. It gave Kagome a reason to tidy up her apartment, get out and about, and have human interaction. Hook ups were nice because they were always different and satisfied her base needs, but sometimes in the early hours of the morning she wished that someone she actually cared about occupied her bed. Her three friends helped to pull her away from her abode and found reasons for her to stay out in the fresh air. Throughout her final year of University Kagome found that she was slowly exchanging hours of sulking for hours spent talking, listening, or caring for herself. Things weren't perfect and Kagome certainly still had to wrestle with her demons. She often drank too much, spent unnecessary money, and had days where she completely gave up - but she was doing better.

Kagome didn't know why she had suddenly decided to leave work one particularly chilly morning. She couldn't even remember standing up and collecting her bag and keys - she was walking out the door and purchasing a train ticket before she knew it. It was the middle of the workday in the middle of the week, why was she buying a train ticket that would take her hours away? There was a pulse at the front of her skull that reminded her exactly why she was doing this. _I have to visit home_ , she thought. This strange headache had started off-and-on a few months ago. Kagome would wake up every once in a while with a twitching, irritating pulse at the front of her skull, right behind her eyebrow. She didn't know what it was until weeks later she blurted out that she'd like to visit home during lunch with Eri, Yuka, and Yumi. Why had she said that? She hadn't been thinking it, but it just spilled off of her tongue. The twitching had progressed to a slight pressure over the weeks and had disappeared as soon as she mentioned her family home.

"What a wonderful idea!" Yumi had beamed.

"I don't think closure would be a bad idea." Yuka proclaimed.

"Would you like us to go with you?" Eri inquired.

"I'm not going, forget I said anything." Kagome grumbled. She was frustrated with herself. Why would she go back home? She had been doing so much better, or at least she thought she had, so why would she want to make things worse again? Sure, closure worked for some but she doubted that she'd feel much better. It was just easier to preoccupy her time with other things rather than dwell on the past.

 _And yet, I'm here. I went home and ended up 350 years in the past. 350 years in the past with an Inuyasha I can't even claim to know anymore. Is this what I really wanted?_

Kagome sighed and Misuzu stiffened.

"I'm sorry if my question was too personal..." Misuzu mumbled.

"I do care for him deeply. I do love Inuyasha, but it's not the love he's looking for. I'm sorry I couldn't break the curse." Kagome finished.

"It's okay, it means Lord Inuyasha has to improve and make the effort." Misuzu smiled cheerily.

"That's a good joke," Kagome snorted, "The Inuyasha I know doesn't take constructive criticism too well."

"You did admit that you don't know this Lord Inuyasha. He might surprise you." Misuzu winked.

Kagome snorted. Did she want to love Inuyasha that way? Could she? She'd nearly been in love with him before - albeit puppy love - but she supposed that was fairly close. But that was when she'd spent damn near every waking moment of everyday with him for almost an entire year. She'd been here for a little over a month and things had gone from bad to worse. Inuyasha had violently attacked her three weeks ago and other than when he divulged his past, she hadn't heard a whisper from him since. Geez, the least he could have done was checked on her to see if the bruise was healing nicely, or maybe send her flowers or something. Kagome subconsciously touched her throat. If she was prepared to fall in love with Inuyasha and break the curse then she'd have to make a decision soon. How much longer did Inuyasha have before he lost his soul to his restless demon half? Before he attacked, when was the last time he changed? How frequently? Every once in a while or a couple times a month? Kagome wasn't eager to put herself in harm's way again so carelessly. But If she wanted to break the curse that meant inevitably spending more time around him and putting herself in danger. This was a pretty tricky situation that Ubanaki put them in. Kagome felt a tingle of relief knowing that Ubanaki hadn't won. Something in the universe had distorted the space time continuum by 144 years and helped Kagome get back. There was still a chance. There had _always_ been a chance.

Misuzu's gentle touch fell on Kagome's hand that was clutched around her own neck and remove it. "Let's take you for a bath, shall we?"

What a wonderful suggestion.

That night Kagome wrestled with the blankets coiled around her like a python and quickly sat up. Her labored gasps for cool air was the only sound in the small, stone-walled room. Sweat beaded along her hairline and on the back of her neck. The voice had been all around her and yet right in her ear at once. "Priestess" it hissed at first but then crescendoed into a hideous throaty, snarl. Had it only been a dream? No, every hair on her body stood on end as if something had been closing in on her - something dangerous. Something or someone had been in the room with her and she was fairly certain that she wasn't alone even in this moment.

"It's just me." He said, his voice soft and gentle. This tone of voice was almost foreign to her ears.

"Inuyasha." She called out to the darkness. She couldn't see anything but his voice came from over by the door. She heard him sniff his nose a few times.

"Do you have bad dreams often?" He asked distractedly, his voice tight. She vaguely heard the sound of him slipping through the room and sniffing his powerful and sensitive nose.

"I - I don't know if that..." she sighed and attempted to quiet the alarmed hairs on her arm by softly stroking them, "sometimes." There was no sense in causing a panic.

"Tomorrow I'm taking you somewhere. I think you'll enjoy it." His voice gentle, soft, and low again, "get some sleep." Kagome nearly protested but was silenced when she felt his hand clasp onto her shoulder and press her back into the make-shift bed.

"Did you come all the way here just to tell me this?" She pressed. Her response was the sound of him walking away from her toward the door.

"Good night, Lord Inuyasha." She sighed in defeat.

She heard him open the cell door but pause for a long moment. "Good night." He said before quietly slipping out of the cell and leaving nothing behind but the smell of dense forest and spice.

Morning came brighter and earlier than usual - something that hopefully wouldn't become a trend. Misuzu bounced into the cell humming an upbeat tune with a tray of vibrant fruits in hand. She tore the blanket away and ignored Kagome's mumbled, sleepy-eyed protests before setting the food in front of her.

"Quickly, eat your meal so we can have you changed for your day with the Lord." Misuzu sang. Kagome peeked up from the corner of a barely cracked eye at the servant and inspected her. Misuzu was beaming ear to ear and her violet eyes were bright with excitement. Kagome grumbled and pushed herself up on to an elbow so she could start eating her meal. She couldn't not try to appease the sunny young woman who could be considered her only friend in the entire palace.

Kagome froze when Misuzu returned with the clothing she was expected to wear. Misuzu wore a sheepish, knowing grin as she held the fabric out to the now wide-awake prisoner.

"Lord Inuyasha warned me you would not like this, but he asks you to trust him."

Kagome took the red and white traditional priestess garb from Misuzu's out stretched arms and fingered the fabric apprehensively. Was this some sort of sick joke? _Is he planning on killing me today to add to his wall collection?_ Kagome's stomach churned violently as she wondered how he had come to acquire and extra set of this priestess clothing. She slowly changed into the fresh clothing and ignored the dreadful sensation is ignited against her skin. Misuzu didn't seem bothered in the slightest as she finger-combed Kagome's long hair and fanned it back behind her.

"You look beautiful." She smiled before bouncing on her heel and practically skipping out the door with Kagome's wrist in her hand. Kagome stumbled after her out of the dungeon and into the early morning glow in the court yard.

Inuyasha stood in the court yard, two beastly horses flanking either side of him. The rising sun's rays glinted off of the deathly spikes protruding from his shoulder armor in a fascinating manner that was only fit for a Lord of demons. He looked the same as the first day she saw him, from his high pony tail to every bit of his decorative armor in place. Misuzu bowed deeply in his presence and Kagome followed suit.

"We have quite a day ahead of us. Let's get going." Inuyasha said before grabbing Kagome around the waist and swinging her onto the top of a massive horse. Was this the first time he'd touched her without violent intentions? Kagome couldn't recall at the moment because something caught her eye. She looked down at Inuyasha's large hands wrapped around her waist and as he lifted her up his sleeves exposed more of his arm. Something was on his wrist. Was it a bruise? No, not a bruise. But there was certainly bold discoloration on his wrists that Kagome would be sure to bring up later.

"I could have taken care of that, my lord." Misuzu chirped.

Inuyasha waved a dismissive hand over his shoulder, "We're off now. You can return to your duties."

"Yes, my lord. Safe travels." Misuzu bowed once again and scurried off toward the palace.

Inuyasha mounted his horse with ease and without a word both horses began moving forward. Kagome fumbled for the reigns while desperately trying to recall horse-riding etiquette that she may have picked up the few times she rode ponies at the school fair.

"Don't bother with the reigns," Inuyasha called from ahead, "The horse knows to follow me and won't listen to much of what you say. Just hold on tight." And with no obvious command the horses were off at a swift gallop right out of the palace gates. Kagome clutched on to the horse's mane with all of her might and squeezed her legs around its sides until her thighs burned. The magnificent beast she sat on was all demonic brawn with the intuition of a clever human - not your average fair pony. The gait was smooth, much more fluid than the horses she rode into the palace on. Kagome found after several miles that she didn't need to clutch the body or mane of the horse so uncomfortably tight due to the horse's steady gait.

"Where are we going?" Kagome shouted over the thundering of hooves after the first half hour of their riding. She had found a way to make the horse speed up so she rode parallel to Inuyasha and his steed. Inuyasha rolled his eyes at this before shooting her a look of annoyance.

"Ya know, it's bad taste to question a King's motives." Inuyasha grumbled sounding much like his old self. It seemed Inuyasha relaxed on the royal façade when he wasn't surrounded by nobles or servants.

Kagome indignantly puffed out her chest and opened her mouth to retort -

"That is for me to know and you to find out." Inuyasha conceded. It was nice to have him back for the time being.

"Is it a surprise? For me?" Kagome inquired, the hope in her voice not lost on the Hanyou.

He sneered at her, "I wouldn't say that. But we'll be visiting an old friend."

"An old friend...?" Kagome trailed off as Inuyasha sped ahead of her leaving her and her steed to trail behind. She followed behind quietly and chose to not ask any more questions. Partially, because she did not want to test his good will and partially because it seemed the horse knew that he did not want to be further bothered and the beast refused to speed up.

When the sun was straight above the traveling pair Kagome saw a house in a clearing. It appeared they were headed straight for the dwelling yet Kagome couldn't recall ever knowing anyone in these parts. The hut was a fine, sturdy building made of wood and a dense thatched roof. It wasn't tiny, but it was modest and comfortable. Kagome thought it was odd that the home sat by itself, without neighbors, in the middle of a clearing. Inuyasha dismounted his horse and Kagome took her time carefully sliding off the horse she rode. The brute huffed in annoyance and stamped its feet. Kagome was about to turn and give the demon a menacing stink-eye but was brought to attention by a noise coming from the house. There was a rustling within the hut, the door flap lifted, and a small wombat-like creature appeared.

"What business do you have here?" The little demon asked in his deepest and most authoritative voice he could muster. Kagome had to stifle a laugh. While it was a demon, it was small, only reaching Kagome's knees. Inuyasha cranked his foot back and kicked the little demon upside the head. It squawked in response and flew into the side of the house pathetically falling into a heap. The small demon turned its back to the duo in attempt to conceal his crying.

"I don't think that's any way to talk to a king, rat." Inuyasha grumbled.

"I'm not a rat. I'm a wombat." He turned a teary eye toward the two and sniffled loudly, "My master isn't home at the moment but he should be back shortly." He sulked before scurrying back into the hut.

Inuyasha sighed, sat down and rested his back against the frame of the home. He made no signal to Kagome as to what she should do so she decided to carefully perch beside him a few feet away.

"You didn't have to kick him like that." Kagome said, checking his response from the corner of her eye. His knee was propped up and a wrist laid on top of it - much more relaxed then his old method of hunching over and sitting on all fours. He faced the sky and didn't turn to respond to her.

"He needs to toughen up. The rat's master is too easy on him." He said as if thinking out loud.

"Reminds me of a certain someone you used to pick on." Kagome tried with a teasing smile. She might have imagined it, but she swore she saw the faintest ghost of a smirk touch the corners of his mouth. Suddenly the moment was over when his ears swiveled to hear something Kagome couldn't. He stood up and brushed his robe and armor off before walking away. Unsure of what to do, Kagome watched him walk to the edge of a clearing and heard someone approach from the woods. She stood up when she heard the new comer greet Inuyasha.

"Lord Inuyasha! It's been awhile. This is pretty far from your palace - what brings you to my home?" She couldn't see the man in question because he was blocked out by Inuyasha's large frame.

"Other than beating on your rat apprentice?" She heard Inuyasha gripe.

"Oh don't be like that. You are always so grumpy and mean toward the little guy. It wouldn't kill you to be nice to him for once." just then Kagome saw a red-orange tail flick out from behind Inuyasha's body. She took a few steps forward. Kagome wasn't sure if she could take the disappointment if this wasn't the person she thought it was. She took another step and her foot snapped and twig in half. The conversation between the two stopped and a young, handsome face peeked out from behind Inuyasha's frame. In the blink of an eye Kagome was wrapped up in young man's arms. She wasn't wrong and reciprocated his tight embrace.

"Kagome you're back!" He exclaimed, picking her up and swinging her around.

"Oh Shippo, I've missed you so much!" Kagome laughed. When was the last time she had been so happy to see a familiar face in this era? She stepped away from him and held him at arm's length, "You've grown. You're taller than me now." Kagome observed quite obviously.

Shippo stood just a few inches above the top of Kagome's head - quite a change from being able to perch on her shoulder a mere 6 - well - 150 years ago. His hair and tail had also grown in length - both silky and sleek in texture. His face had lost its childish roundness and featured more prominent cheek bones and a set jawline. Although he had grown up quite a lot, he still had the same boyish look about him and mischievous glint in his eye.

"Well I had to grow up someday." Shippo grinned, a pointy fang laying against his pearly white teeth. His voice had gotten lower, too. All in all, he had become a strapping young man. She grinned back at him with pride swelling in her heart. She was sad because she missed watching him grow up but she was happy she had the chance to see him as a charming young man. Shippo and Inuyasha chatted until the young demon turned to Kagome.

"Where have you been, Kagome? I didn't expect you to be, well, alive and... " Shippo trailed off his sentence until it became an inaudible mumble. Kagome quizzically looked at Inuyasha who was shooting the fox demon a furrowed brow, stern look that could easily be interpreted as _Shut up._

"That'll be a story for the road," Inuyasha said firmly, "Shippo, I need you to take us somewhere."

* * *

 **And that's a wrap for today. Like I said, I could have gone on to where they were going but I think it'd take me awhile to write it. I might have to channel some emotion into the next part and just no thanks. Not today. Any guesses on where they're going?**

 **Also, sorry not sorry if anyone doesn't like the fact that Kagome has been with other people. Like, lets be realistic here. Nobody could wait 6 years for someone they hardly had a romantic relationship with. Especially if they didn't hear from that person ever again. Kagome is a strong, independent, mature woman who embraces her sexuality! *pumps fist*. Mainly I chose this because I'm so over the blushing, coquettish, virginal Kagome everyone holds so dear. Psh. No thanks. (;**

 **Please favorite, follow, and review! I love each and every one of them!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Back again with a new chapter. To address a concern:**

 **I forget who, but someone said my timeline was off. Kagome is 21 and graduated university early. The anime took place when she was 15 or so. 6 years have passed. Her mother and brother died 3 years in, so when she was 18. I looked back and I think I have it somewhere saying 17 so I will have to go back and fix that. Sorry for any confusion! You all like to keep me on my toes and I appreciate it.**

* * *

 _"I loved her._

 _Not for the way_

 _she danced with my angels,_

 _but for the way_

 _her name could_

 _silence my demons." -Christopher Poindexter_

Chapter 11

The wind raked its invisible fingers through Kagome's tendrils that hung from her loose up-do. The air that rushed into her lungs was revitalizing, fresh, and woke her spirit. Kagome felt so awake, alive, and free for the first time in a long while. If she closed her eyes she could see clear as day Miroku, Sango, and Kirara there with her riding atop Shippo. Oh how nice it was to fly again! Kagome sighed contentedly and thrust her arms out to either side of her and threw her head back. Inuyasha sat in the background, arms and legs crossed, watching her in contemplative silence.

"You know Inuyasha, you could take some notes from Kagome and lighten up a bit." Shippo mused from below in his large pink balloon-like form. The now grown fox demon didn't struggle to carry the combined weight of several people and could even withstand distractions…

"Ouch!" Shippo yelped after Inuyasha struck his bulbous body with a sheathed Tessaiga. Inuyasha calmly returned the fang back to his hip without taking his eyes off of the jubilant woman before him.

The three traveled in silence until Shippo tried his luck again at asking Kagome about the details of her 150-year disappearance. Kagome described the well calling her and suddenly coming back to life after a long 6-year dormancy. She told Shippo about getting kidnapped, but left out the details of her imprisoned stay at Inuyasha's palace. Shippo was drawn in by the exciting tale but not so oblivious to the glaring fact that Kagome was incredibly thin and she hadn't exchanged a single word with the demon lord. It was odd and certainly not how two reunited friends should be acting. Nevertheless, Shippo kept his observations to himself – for now.

Kagome, on the other hand, had nearly forgotten that Inuyasha was seated just five feet behind her. Kagome and Shippo excitedly chatted while the half demon sat in the background motionless and aloof. She would have suspected he was deep in thought if it weren't for his incriminating ears twitching as the two talked. Kagome inwardly smiled at the idea of Inuyasha eavesdropping on a casual conversation between old friends. It seemed… very un-regal and much more like his moody, stubborn self from before. Its almost as if the restraints of nobility withered away the further the pair traveled away from the palace. But when they were at the palce Inuyasha acted incredibly detached and almost like… Sesshomaru? Kagome wondered if Sesshomaru acted this way because he was born into royalty and raised into the role of Lord of the West. Both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, matter of fact, were born into royalty yet they acted completely different in the past. Their father was one of the greatest demons of his time and Inuyasha's mother was even a princess. The only difference between the two was the fact that Sesshomaru had grown up with his father's influence and Inuyasha did not. Not for the first time, Kagome found herself wondering what Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's father had been like. His two sons were utterly polarized before, but now she could see some blossoming similarities between the two. Both were stone-cold rulers that commanded respect with their threatening demeanors alone. Kagome peeked back at Inuyasha. Yes, his appearance was still intimidating but he looked more solemn now than menacing. Still, he sat by himself watching the landscape before them pass as the trio cut through the sky.

"We're close." He said suddenly, startling Kagome.

"What exactly are we close to?" she inquired seeing only trees and dense forest below. Only a few moments later a town materialized on the western horizon. Kagome squinted at it to get a better look and sharply inhaled. The town was fairly large in size with high walls and hauntingly familiar.

Kagome turned to him, her eyes wide with panic. He was already looking at her, piercing her with those intense, amber eyes willing her to calm down and submit. No chance of that. "Inuyasha, where are we going? I can't go back to Kaede's village. They'll kill me if they see me."

"If anyone is going to kill you, it'll be me." Inuyasha said callously without skipping a beat. His voice was once again thick, black smoke that caused every hair on Kagome's body to stand on end. Shippo began to protest but the hanyou quickly finished, "… But I'm not going to do that."

"You don't _still_ think I'm not Kagome, do you?" Kagome cried, angry that he still had the idea of killing her at the forefront of his mind. No response. She stood up and stamped her foot on their pink aircraft in frustration. "What do I have to do to prove to you that I am the real Kagome? You've kept me locked up for how long now and I haven't made any moves to kill you? You're lucky that I can't still 'Sit' you!" Kagome shouted at him. At the mention of being locked up Shippo took the chance to speak up as well.

Inuyasha's brow furrowed and he flashed the two a nasty scowl before standing up and striding over to Kagome. Her fiery agitation quickly sizzled into thin smoke as he towered over her. He unexpectedly reached out and pulled her against his side before wrapping an arm around her waist and launching the both of them off of Shippo. The momentum carried them through the air before they started their barreling, downward descent to the ground. Being held with one arm against his side rather than secured on his back like the old days caused her to clutch to him tightly and screw her eyes shut. She'd be screaming if all the air hadn't been pressed out of her lungs due to the high velocity they were falling at. She opened her eyes just in time to see him gracefully land on a tree and with sheer, unbridled power he pressed off again high into the air and again they were soaring. Kagome's poor stomach didn't have the chance to recoil and for the first time she was happy that she didn't have a lot of food in her belly. She was light-headed and breathless – she didn't ever remember moving this fast with Inuyasha before. Was it six years of moving at a humanly pace that caused her to feel so unprepared or had something else changed?

"INUYASHAAA!" she screeched as soon as she felt oxygen enter her lungs.

In the blink of an eye the two were stationary and perched on top of a tree. Kagome's blood returned to all parts of her body and she slumped against him. She groaned miserably. It felt like all of her limbs had changed in composition and magically turned into lead weights. Kagome recalled one of her physics professors from University explaining what gravitational force was and how it affected the human body. The human body can only withstand so many G-forces of speed with sudden stops before it just gives out completely. Her legs shook uncontrollably as she tried to stand so she didn't even bother. She half expected him to say something along the lines of "Keh, humans are so weak." But instead he just quietly held on to her and waited for her to acclimate.

"I don't ever remember feeling like this in the past when I was on your back." Kagome panted. Her arms began to loosen from around his torso but every muscle was still clenched so tight that they simply fell uselessly next to her sides like clubs.

"I was weaker then." He said simply, "My demon blood is much closer to the surface than it ever was before. I'm more in touch with it and it's lent me immense strength."

Kagome gaped at him. This was due to his curse?

"Is that why you have those jagged lines on your wrists?" Kagome asked. Now it was Inuyasha's turn to be caught off guard. He wasn't aware that she had ever seen those – he'd tried to keep them hidden.

"Yes. They're apart of my demon half. One day they appeared on my skin after I'd shifted and they've been there ever since - a constant reminder that I'm losing the war on this curse and Ubanaki." He explained.

Kagome pursed her lips. The markings reminded her of Sesshomaru's and were identical to the jagged lines that cut across Inuyasha's face every time he turned into a demon in the past. It made sense, she supposed, that as more time passed that he spent cursed the more havoc the curse would wreak on his body. It also made sense that he would begin taking on the appearance of a demon, as well. She glanced up at him one last time while he spoke and caught a glimpse of a pearly, glistening fang. Had his razor-sharp fangs always been that long?

The strength began to return to Kagome's body and she took a look at their surroundings. They were heading west and in-line with Kaede's village. Ahead, was the tree of ages, which was easily identifiable amid the crowd of smaller trees. Were they going to the well? Was she going home? Was that even possible?

Inuyasha tightened his grip on her waist and she prepared herself to the best of her ability for take off. They soared through the sky at a noticeably slower pace this time and Kagome silently thanked him. It turned out that he had plans other than dropping her off at the well as they blew right past the tree of ages. They traveled for only a few more minutes before Inuyasha took her below the tree line and her feet landed on the ground. She looked around and shot him a puzzled look. They were in the middle of the forest and as far as Kagome could tell there was nothing worth noticing near by. The underbrush was overgrown and the large trees were draped with moss and tangled branches. Bright sunlight only penetrated the forest floor in patches and made the shady timberland seem that much thicker.

"You're going to want to follow that path." Was all he said pointing a claw at the ground where the brush parted creating a narrow, grassy path uphill. While it may have been traveled plenty in the past it was obvious by the overgrown and undisturbed grass that nobody had traipsed up this hillside trail in quite some time. She looked over at Inuyasha but he made no move to lead so Kagome began to walk.

The trail was pretty straightforward and easy to follow. Only a few times she had to climb over a fallen tree or cross a bubbling stream. Inuyasha hadn't followed her up the path. She figured that he was confident that she'd be safe here and that she also wouldn't be able to run away from him. She wondered if he was lurking in the shadows watching her from afar… or maybe he was beginning to trust her? _Or he knows that he could easily sniff me out and catch up to me before I even ran a mile away, stupid._ She internally berated herself. Wasn't it just an hour ago that he had implied he still might not trust her? She huffed and wiped the budding sweat beads from her hairline.

Kagome pushed her way through some branches that covered the exit and exhaled a sigh of relief. The forest line ended here and all she had to do was trek up the rest of the hill. To her delight Kagome could see where the hill rounded off at the top, which would only take her a few minutes to reach. She gingerly stepped away from the tree line and into waist-high grasses that cloaked the hillside. She waded through the sea of dancing green grasses that moved collectively in waves with the breeze. As she neared the top she spied a grand, old oak tree with twisted branches that reached out in all directions. At the top the grass was once again short and Kagome began to easily make her way to the tree. Besides the imposing, old tree, grass, and an array of white wild flowers, the top of the hill was completely bare. Is this where Inuyasha meant for her to go - to a tree?

Kagome reached the tree and ran her fingers over the rugged bark that shrouded it. Suddenly, something like an electrical current flowed within her and she was very in-tune to the fact that there was something different about this tree. Something about this tree had caused her spiritual senses to heighten and all at once she was hyper-aware of every thing around her. She could feel the birds nesting in the tree, the current of a near by stream, and sense that Inuyasha was near by. This was streamlined with her awakening priestess power, but not quite like it. She could comfortably admit that this was an immense power unlike anything she had ever felt before – and yet it was wholly pure.

Kagome walked around the wide base of the tree and found the source of the power. The air deflated from her lungs and her shoulders sagged. Kagome let her chin tilt back and she absently gazed at the branches overhead. This is what Inuyasha had brought her to see. Protruding from the tree at an angle was a golden and ringed staff. Below it was a large, decorated boomerang made from demon bones. Kagome let her head fall forward and immediately spotted two grave-marking stones on the ground: Miroku, Sango.

Kagome sat for a long time at the foot of her friends' graves. Before that she had reached out and touched Miroku's staff causing a pulse of energy that rocked her lithe body to its core. Kagome longingly looked at Sango's Hiraikostu but did not touch it – Sango's weapon only served Sango. It would only reject Kagome's touch. She also collected some of the white wild flowers that bobbed and danced in the wind and Kagome placed them on each grave. She said a few wordless prayers for the two while a few silent tears slid down her cheeks. This was the closure she had needed with her dear friends.

"I'm sorry I came back too late." Kagome whispered as she clasped her hands tighter in prayer.

"They always wished the best for you even though you weren't here." A voice from behind her spoke up. Startled, Kagome quickly turned around to face Inuyasha and Shippo standing some odd fifteen feet away.

"Miroku and Sango, I mean." Shippo continued.

"And they talked about you all of the time. They told all of their children about you." Shippo added earnestly. "Miroku and Sango never lost hope that you'd come back to see them and I'm glad they weren't wrong." Shippo finished with a smile.

Fresh tears flowed freely down Kagome's face as she got up and launched herself at the fox demon. "Oh Shippo!" she cried before running into his open arms and sobbing against his chest. In that moment the roles reversed and he held her like she had held him in the past during trying times. Soon her sobs became sniffles and Shippo let go of her. He wiped away her tears with his thumbs and told her he'd be waiting to take them home whenever they were ready. Shippo started back down the hill and soon it was just Inuyasha, Kagome, and the graves. Kagome turned to Inuyasha and searched his eyes for anything that may offer her comfort.

Inuyasha sighed, "Come here." He said quietly.

Kagome fell into his arms and leaned her forehead against the cool, hard metal of his chest plate. The difference between Shippo's soft and warm embrace and Inuyasha's hard and metallic one was glaring. Kagome found herself longing for the days when things were simpler and wanted nothing more than to tear the armored shell away from him – literally and figuratively. Inuyasha uncomfortably hovered his hands over her body before settling for wrapping an arm around her and placing another clawed hand on top of her head.

* * *

He supposed he owed her at least this small ounce of consolation. Shippo had berated him on the hike up to this spot. In her rage-induced rant Kagome had carelessly mentioned that Inuyasha kept her locked up.

"Inuyasha why would you treat her like a prisoner? I can't believe you. You know she's the real thing." Shippo spoke at him disdainfully.

"I don't." was all Inuyasha growled back at him.

"Inuyasha, both you and I know that you're just being stubborn." Shippo crossed his arms and threw his nose in the air. Inuyasha should really consider putting him in his place. "You need to know when to trust the right people or you're going to be the one hurting in the end. I knew she was too thin and she's really acted like she's wanted nothing to do with you. I knew something was up and I suspected that it started with you." Shippo shrugged nonchalantly.

"After this you better start treating her well because you have no excuses to hide behind if she can see the graves. If you can't treat her like our friend I have no problem taking her. She deserves to be treated better than what you have." He warned taking on a much more serious tone. Inuyasha snarled at him and stomped ahead on the grassy trail.

He was infuriated that the impertinent fox demon thought he could speak so brazenly to him, but mostly he was angry with himself. Deep down he knew Shippo was right and that Kagome had been miserable.

She clung on to his body like he was a life raft in stormy seas. Inuyasha pulled the clip from her hair and let it fall so it cascaded down her back. He cupped the back of her head with his hand and stroked the soft, jet-black hair there with his thumb. Inuyasha didn't know why, but he had the irrefutable urge to rest his chin on the top of her head; so he did. Was this comforting for her? It'd been a very, very long time since he had attempted to comfort a human woman. It'd also been a long time since a human woman had tried to comfort him, but he distinctly remembered this method of comfort used on him as a child by his mother.

"They loved you." He found himself admitting. He cursed himself for saying that as he smelled new salty tears in the air, but a part of him knew it was the right to let her know. It was true – Miroku and Sango had spent a lot of time thinking of Kagome. Even insisting that they stay in Kaede's village in case she came back, long after Inuyasha had departed the area to rule his kingdom. They raised a family in that village and told them all the stories of a powerful and brave priestess that helped complete the Shikon jewel and destroy their formidable foe, Naraku. Up until the day they died and their weakened human bodies gave out they never once doubted they'd see Kagome someday. Inuyasha had the two buried, side-by-side on this hill that overlooked the tree of ages and Kaede's village. The spot was secluded, private, and most of all a special place to Miroku and Sango.

A few days before his passing, Miroku had requested Inuyasha to take him to the top of the hill, as he was too old to make the trek alone. Once there, Miroku had pierced his staff through the tree's bark and lodged it there with a strength that surprised even Inuyasha. He had chanted a prayer and then turned toward Inuyasha with a simple smile, "Time to go home. Sango will be worried if we spend too much more time up here."

"That's it? You're leaving your staff up here?" Inuyasha asked incredulously.

"Can you not feel it, my friend? There's a barrier on this hill now." Miroku explained. In fact, Inuyasha hadn't felt it but he certainly didn't doubt it. Miroku had become an extremely influential and powerful monk. "Maybe not," Miroku continued, "But only certain people will be able to see my grave and my staff here."

"Don't talk like that, Miroku." The half-demon warned.

"I am an old man, and I've lived a long happy life. This body will not go on forever – I am only human after all." Miroku echoed Inuyasha's words from yesteryears. On that hilltop Miroku gave concise instructions for he and his wife's burial and that's when he learned that only he, their children and bloodline, and their friends would be able to see the grave – including Kagome. Inuyasha wanted to explain that Kagome would likely be dead at this point but Miroku wouldn't hear it. Anyone else that found their way to the top of the hill would find nothing but grass and bare landscape at the top. It was only a few days later that Miroku passed, and Sango soon followed after him.

Inuyasha watched the graves from where he stood, his chin still buried in her locks. _Well old man, your barrier had its uses after all._ _Ya hear me? She came back to see you both just like you planned._ Inuyasha could have sworn in that moment he felt a firm hand clap down on his shoulder and pat it a few times before dissipating into thin air. Kagome suddenly pulled away from his chest, bleary eyed and tear stained she began searching over Inuyasha's shoulder for something that wasn't there. That old monk worked in mysterious ways.

* * *

"We should get going." She stated after pulling away from his embrace. Kagome asked herself when this dream would end because she couldn't believe that Inuyasha would ever hold her so tenderly. It was mid-afternoon and she calculated that they'd be lucky to get back to the palace before midnight. Kagome turned to say her last goodbyes to her friends and then the two wordlessly walked down the hill to find Shippo.

The trip back to Shippo's hut was fairly quiet until they were but a few minutes away.

"Inuyasha." Shippo said cautiously.

"Yeah, I know. I smell them." Inuyasha rumbled.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha who was sat much stiffer and ridged than before. She looked down at the forest below and couldn't see anything that stuck out to her.

"Take Kagome. I need to go check on the boy." Shippo called before transforming right from below Kagome's feet. Inuyasha quickly grabbed her and pressed her body against his side once more as Shippo flew off now in the shape of a large bird. The two landed on treetops and Inuyasha began gracefully jumping from treetop to treetop until they landed in the clearing next to Shippo's hut. Shippo was already there tending to his injured apprentice surrounded by a group of humans. The humans came in the form of angry men with guns, swords and torches. Inuyasha shielded Kagome from view with his body and confidently squared his shoulders causing his striking jagged shoulder armor to gleam in the late afternoon sunlight.

"I'm sorry, Master! It was an ambush and I couldn't hold them off!" the wombat demon cried as Shippo hushed him and turned to face their opponents.

"This is demon territory. I suggest you humans turn and leave before I send you back myself." Inuyasha menacingly growled looking between the twenty or so humans that stood before him.

One man stepped forward with a cocky grin, "And why should we? Just because you got some fancy armor and you're a demon? Who do you think you are anyway? We're here to take this land as rightfully ours." A few men in the background pumped their weapons in the air and voiced their agreements.

"Who am I?" Inuyasha rumbled as he dramatically drew Tessaiga from its sheath, "I am Lord Inuyasha, Lord of the demon's and you're standing in my kingdom." He said gravely.

The demeanor in the clearing changed and the cocky man's smile slid into a concerned frown. A few of the men in the back of the group began to slowly retreat into the tree line as they weighed the importance of their own lives. A few of the men weren't ready to give up and charged forward swords ready and gun firing erratically. Inuyasha turned Tessaiga to them and effortlessly obliterated the few men with a wind scar. The other men watched in horror at the sheer power the half-demon wielded from his sword and hesitantly remained in place.

"I warned you but you insist on me removing you all myself. I won't be so easy on the rest of you humans!" he roared as he brought Tessaiga up to use another wind scar. However, the attack never came. Instead a small hand appeared on his shoulder, begging him to spare the lives of the men and let them go. A small woman in priestess's clothing appeared from behind the demon Lord and tried to reason with him.

"A… A priestess? The demon vermin has a priestess held captive!" one of the men shouted. Inuyasha's head snapped from the priestess's eyes to the group of men before him. This time, Inuyasha wasted no time in pushing Kagome to the side and letting another wind scar rip through the meadow and disintegrate the trespassers.

"She is none of your concern!" Inuyasha roared as he quickly advanced on the rest of the men in the clearing.

Kagome was speechless. Inuyasha had just slaughtered a lot of humans right before her eyes. For what purpose? To maintain a feared status among other humans who might dare stand up to him? To perhaps keep her out of harms way? Although the men took a particular interest in her she somehow doubted it. She felt sick to her stomach. He knew they were no match for him and using such awesome power was on them was just a horrendous show of power. The only other time she had seen him so carelessly kill humans was the time he turned into a demon and massacred an entire band of bandits. She looked at him incredulously when he turned to her. Either he didn't notice or didn't care because he grabbed her wrist and shoved her to Shippo.

"Shippo, take Kagome to the palace. Get her there quickly and safely." Inuyasha said before turning away from the pair and disappearing into the woods.

Before Kagome knew it, Shippo had transformed into a large bird once again and Kagome was holding his sleeping apprentice in her arms. They soared high in the air quickly and silently through the still night. Shippo hadn't said a word to her since they had left so it left Kagome to her thoughts alone.

"I can't believe Inuyasha killed all of those men. It's like it didn't even bother him to do it." Kagome finally said out loud.

"To be fair, he doesn't really ever do that. The last time he did that was when that priestess tricked him, I think. Everyone knows about that. Other than that his armies do most of the killing." Shippo offered.

"Then what caused him to do it today?" Kagome asked.

"You were there on the battlefield and could have been in danger. Inuyasha isn't one to take chances." Shippo said this as if it were the most obvious fact in the world. "Plus they saw that you were a priestess."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kagome asked, completely ignoring that sentiment about Inuyasha being concerned with her safety.

"Well, everyone knows what happened to Ubanaki. Nobody realizes that she had cursed Inuyasha, therefore forfeiting her purity and giving into the dark priestess practices. As far as everyone was concerned she was going to be a hero. I wouldn't be surprised if they saw you and honestly feared for your safety. This will most likely cause some problems as priestesses are highly respected, and not saving a priestess that's in trouble is an omen. I'd imagine Inuyasha would like to avoid as many conflicts as possible but now that those men know it's going to get political." Shippo explained.

"So he just kills them." Kagome stated plainly.

"Hmm... yeah that's about right." Shippo shrugged from beneath her. Kagome sighed; obviously her human empathy was not going to get through to him. What she thought was an atrocity was just politics to demon-kind.

Kagome hadn't realized that she'd nodded off until they landed in front of the palace gates. Kagome slid off of Shippo, the sleeping wombat demon still cradled in her arms as she walked through the slowly opening gates to the fortress. Within a minute of their arrival servants began to trickle out of the palace to tend to the trio's needs.

"Kagome! You're back!" she heard Misuzu call out from behind.

"You say that as if you're surprised." Kagome remarked as the demoness danced to her side.

"Ah… well. I believed you'd pass the test and that you'd come back!" Misuzu awkwardly dug her toes into the ground.

"Wait – what? Today was a test?" Kagome asked unbelievingly.

"Lord Inuyasha told us that if you came back that you'd passed the test." Misuzu sheepishly grinned.

"So you sent me off this morning knowing that I might die today?" Kagome asked sardonically, remembering what Inuyasha had said earlier that day about 'being the one to kill her – but not yet' – or something to that effect. The test must have been something to do with that hill because she couldn't imagine Inuyasha would be so willing to comfort her before arriving there. She wanted to be angry at him for putting her up to another test but she just simply didn't have the energy for that for now. At least he had allowed her to visit Miroku and Sango's graves and have the closure she so desperately needed.

"I believed you'd be coming back to us because I know that you're the real Kagome." Misuzu beamed as she took the sleeping, injured wombat demon from Kagome's arms.

"Well I'm glad I have at least one person on my side of the issue." Kagome grinned.

"Ah, ah, ah," Misuzu wagged a finger at her after passing the apprentice to another servant, "We're all on your side now - even the Lord. That was the whole point of today."

Kagome sighed relief as she felt the weight of the world lift from her shoulders. She'd spent every day for over a month sleeping on a dungeon floor and had been treated as a prisoner because nobody believed that she was _the_ Kagome. Perhaps she could feel safer now in Inuyasha's presence now that he believed her. Kagome was glad that they could finally put this issue to rest and move on. Rest – Oh that sounded lovely.

Kagome yawned and the ever-perceptible moth demoness didn't miss it. "Come, we'll get you set up in your new quarters." She said as she skipped ahead.

Kagome looked back at Shippo before leaving the courtyard. He was busy talking to a group of armed men but took a moment to nod and smile to Kagome. Kagome gave him a small wave and turned to leave but nearly bumped into someone blocking her way. She looked up to a pair of heterochromatic eyes; one crystalline blue and the other a burning red. It was the horned man, the one that Inuyasha called Takakazu. His wide and iron plated frame effectively blocked her path and kept her corralled in front of him.

"I see that you're still alive." He said caustically, "That must mean that you're really the one we've been searching for all of these years." He continued, his tone suddenly alarmingly honeyed and sweet.

"I am. That's what I've been telling you all the entire time." Kagome fought the urge to shy away from him or fidget under his intense, scorching watch. So instead she squared her shoulders and stared him right in his creepy eyes. Why did she feel the need to act so defensively in his presence? She imagined that anyone would act this way after said person allowed you to withstand horrible abuse and torture.

"Glad to hear it. My apologies for your mistreatment during our… introduction to one another." He bowed ever so slightly, a gesture that paired well with his half-assed apology. "I must go now. It seems like our lord has gone off and started more trouble with the humans." He said as he purposefully strode past Kagome. "Why he doesn't just kill every last whimpering one of them is lost on me. I'd rather be done with it, don't you agree?" he asked her but Kagome refused to turn and humor him with her flaring temper. That's all he wanted was a rise out of her. He was rude, cold, uncaring, and dangerous. She would not play his mind games.

"Alright men, we'll head west to aid the Lord and escort him back to the palace" Takakazu shouted over the murmur of voices in the courtyard.

Kagome marched off to the court where she found Misuzu waiting and chatting excitedly to other servants. Kagome turned and peeked back out into the courtyard where she saw all of the soldiers preparing to depart but didn't see any sign of the demon called Takakazu.

Misuzu led the both of them through the palace and back to the long hall that passed over the ravine to Lord Inuyasha's wing. Nothing had changed, all of the ancient relics were still impeccably placed and the flags still strung from the ceiling supports.

Kagome froze in her tracks, "Misuzu. I'm not sharing a room with Inuyasha, am I?" she asked nervously.

"Oh is that what you want? I'm sure I could make a few arrangements…?" Misuzu asked mischievously while winking flirtily at Kagome.

Kagome's stomach tumbled at the thought of sleeping in a bed while the hollow and gaunt eyes of a dead woman watched you high up on a wall. "That was the least of my concerns." Kagome mumbled to herself.

"There is a guest chamber adjacent to the Lord's that he has requested you make yourself comfortable in."

"He _requested_? He wants me to use a spare bedroom near his? Since when did I suddenly become so respectable? Am I really going to go from sleeping on a dungeon floor to being neighbors with a Lord?" Kagome rolled her eyes. Why couldn't he have given her this test a month ago?

"So it seems that you have a special place in our Lord's heart. That's a good start to breaking the curse." Misuzu chimed.

The curse. While it had been at the forefront of her mind lately, she'd completely forgotten that she needed to break it. Not only did she need to break the curse, but also she needed to do it before Inuyasha completely lost his soul to it. Inuyasha had mentioned that the purple marks appeared suddenly one day, meaning that as time wore on that he was losing the battle. The demon blood slowly taking over was beginning to have some physical effects as well – not good. Damn, how long did she have? He could turn tomorrow and never turn back. And now she'd be separated by only a measly stone wall. _Great_.

Kagome groaned out loud and Misuzu shot her a despondent frown. Kagome internally kicked herself. "No, ugh. I wasn't reacting like that to your statement about the curse. I was just – uh – ugh never mind." Kagome tried but quickly gave up when Misuzu seemed uninterested with her excuse.

The two women reached the lobby of Inuyasha's wing and the demoness pointed to the door on the right.

"This is where you will sleep. As you know, the Lord's quarters are in the middle and to the left is a private baths. He gave no instruction, but I suggest that if you do use his baths you do it quickly and discreetly. He would not like to have to wait on you to finish." She instructed seriously. Kagome had to stifle a snicker: since when had Inuyasha become so particular about his bathing and preening?

Kagome shrugged and started toward the door. "Oh, and Kagome?" Kagome looked back at the young woman inquisitively. "Have a good night. Things will only get better from here on out."

For the first time in a long time Kagome offered what she hoped was an optimistic smile. "Possibly." Was all she said in response before disappearing behind the door.


	12. Chapter 12

**Oh, hey. I disappeared for about another month and a half. Things have been pretty rough in my neck of the woods. So many bad things are happening this year and it's really pulling me away from doing things like this. A few chapters ago I had mentioned my grandfather passed. After that things between my divorcing parents got really, really bad. I came home for the summer, was kicked out of my mom's house, one of my boyfriend's best friends (also a friend of mine) committed suicide, and my big, beautiful four-year-old black lab was hit by a truck during a storm and killed. My entire being ached with heartbreak for him for days because he didn't deserve to suffer so much. I cried so much I made myself sick for the following couple weeks. And lastly, I think my long-time boyfriend and I are going to split up. Things just aren't working out and I don't know if he'll ever be the man that I hoped he'd be. It's been really tough guys. So if this chapter seems a little ~off~ it's because I'm just a little distracted lately. I lost my inspiration for this story over my hiatus. I realized that a lot of things I wanted to do with this story had no way of coming together. But then I got an idea, so now we're back at it and I'm going to try to see how it goes. Thanks for your patience.**

 **NOTE: I haven't been able to post this chapter because of a "Net Error 2"? I've never seen this before but how frustrating. It's still keeping me from uploading my document but I found I can get around it by copy-and-pasting it instead.**

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 _"_ _You will not pull the wool over my eyes._

 _Believe me when I say,_

 _I am as mad as the moon is full_

 _and I have laid down with wilder wolves." – Lauren Eden_

Kagome lay awake for hours in her bed. The morning sunlight streamed in through the few windows that lit up the room. She couldn't help but wonder if someone was going to burst through the door shrieking about all the work she had to get done and reprimand her for sleeping the day away but nobody came. Except Misuzu, of course, who had brought her a mouth-watering breakfast of rice, eggs, and vegetables. She woke that morning to the smell of delicious food and had wasted no time scarfing it down after the servant left. It was savory and nutritious and Kagome's eyes nearly rolled back in her head while reveling in her first real meal since she'd shown up in this era. Now she lay on her plush bed, full and cozy, waiting for the dream to end.

Kagome couldn't believe the change in demeanor that Inuyasha flipped like a light switch. One night she was eating scraps on a dungeon floor and the next she was sitting on a luxurious bed and eating meals that put her mama to shame. She stretched lazily and grappled the plush bedding with her hands and dug he fingers in it. She had been so exhausted the night before that she's hardly remembered to blow out the candles before falling into bed. Thankfully, sleepwear had been laid out on the bed for her so she didn't need to go far to find any. Kagome eagerly stripped herself of the day's clothing, slipped into the provided attire, and slid into the feather-soft bed. The bedding below sank and curved to accommodate her body and kiss every curve and bend. When had she felt so comfortable in a bed? To be honest her bed at home was probably more comfortable than this, but she had become used to sleeping on a heap of pillows lying on the ground. There wasn't much time to lie awake and think because a haze of drowsiness immediately drowned her and she succumbed to it's depths.

Kagome laid in bed, her hands interlocked and placed on her stomach, and deep in thought.

 _So, Inuyasha finally believes that I am the same Kagome. This is good. He was nice to me and had a beautiful room set up for me. This is also good. And then he killed a lot of humans without a second thought while on a power trip. That was bad. Then he went to track down and kill the men who surrendered. That was really bad. +2 for the good deeds, -2 for the brutal slaying of humans. That comes out to: 0 good things to tip the scale in Inuyasha's favor._

Kagomegroaned and rubbed her temples. Inuyasha's servants and even Misuzu could vouch for their majesty and name specific good deeds he'd done over the course of 150 years. Yet Kagome felt like she could counter each one with a harrowing experience of her own in the last month and a half alone! Was Inuyasha really that kind and good of a king, or were these people brainwashed? Perhaps they were so fully devoted to him that they could rationalize or look past any immoral doing on his half.

Kagome flipped over and buried her face in one of the nearest pillows. It would be very hard to fall in love with somebody that showed absolutely no remorse in slaughtering her own species. She understood that not every human was good, but that doesn't mean they deserve to die. Where was his sense of dignity? He'd always made an effort to not kill humans, because he himself was part human. Kagome growled into the pillow. _But he's losing his human half! A long time ago, I loved both halves! Ubanaki's curse is taking away one of his halves and replacing it with a stranger demon half. I don't know this Inuyasha._

Kagome flipped over once more and watched the dust float aimlessly in the late morning sunlight streaming through a stained glass window. Since when was she so restless? Kagome sat up and clapped a hand to either cheek.

"I'll visit the hot spring. That'll help me relax." She determined.

Kagome swung her legs off of the bed and stood up, all while noticing how well rested and energized she felt. Sleeping on a comfortable bed and eating a filling breakfast worked its wonders on rejuvenating her worn down body. Kagome threw her hands in the air and stretched every thinly worn muscle from her fingers all the way down to her toes. Before she could stop herself Kagome released a wild sigh of contentment – could anyone blame her?

The door to her room opened quietly and effortlessly and the young woman poked her head out to see if anybody was around. The lobby of Inuyasha's wing was completely still and uninhabited. Kagome silently rejoiced and quickly darted across the lobby toward to door opposite of hers – the springs.

"You're finally awake." An unfamiliar voice stopped the priestess dead in her tracks. Kagome glanced down the grand hall in the direction of the voice. An older woman stood holding a basket of vials, cloths, and trinkets.

"I am. I just woke up not too long ago." Kagome stood up straighter and awkwardly shuffled her feet. Kagome wanted to avoid coming into contact with strangers who might not know who she is hanging around the Lord's chambers. But how embarrassing to be caught running about in the grandest palace she'd ever been in like a small, wild child.

"That's good to hear. I was just coming to ask if you were ready for your bath but it looks like you've beaten me to it." The woman observed plainly. "Come along then. Let's get you cleaned up." The woman walked over to the door, opened it, and disappeared inside.

Inside the doorway was a cavernous tunnel and a blast of hot, wet steam. Kagome's mouth immediately dried and the back of her neck quickly began to collect sweat upon entering the rabbit hole of a tunnel. The walls were rocky and jagged, not to mention so narrow that she had to take care to avoid scraping her shoulders against the sharp rock wall. The tunnel winded left and right and descended on a gradual slope before opening up into a cave that housed a hot spring. While the base of the cave was large enough to comfortably sit several people, the walls of the cave slanted inward until they met at a narrow opening several stories above, like a funnel. Up there, a thin material was stretched over the opening, large enough to let sunlight in and material thick enough to allow a slow and steady stream of steam to escape.

The woman knelt over her basket on the far side of the room carefully unpacking all of her items. "This is Inuyasha's personal spring as I'm sure you know. He's one of the nicer springs in the area due to the fact there's bubbling lava right under your feet. Don't worry though, this ones been quite for a long time now."

"A dormant volcano?" Kagome wondered aloud. Quite the interesting place to put your bed and bath. "I suppose that's a very 'Inuyasha' thing to do though." Kagome surmised out loud.

The woman stopped her fiddling with a comb for a moment and smiled. "I suppose it is, isn't it?"

After several moments the woman straightened up and put her hands on her hips. "So are you just going to stand there gawking and sweatin' through your sleeping gown or are you going to get undressed?" the woman crowed.

Kagome looked at the woman warily. She expected Kagome to get naked right here and now? Why was this woman even here?

"Have you suddenly gone deaf? Move along now. I haven't got all day to wash you." The woman shooed.

"Oh, that isn't necessary." Kagome said, "I can wash myself."

"Nonsense." The woman shot back, "You are a guest of Inuyasha's and will be treated as such."

It dawned on Kagome that this woman had been appointed to bathe her. Is this really what it was like to be treated as royalty? Is this even necessary? She had arms for crying out loud. They had so much power and money that lords and nobles felt it was beneath them the bathe themselves? Kagome snorted. How ludacris. Yet, here she was, untying her night robes and handing it to the waiting older woman. Kagome carefully stepped into the nearly scalding waters and made sure to take her time submerging her delicate skin underneath the surface. She quickly broke out into a sweat and began to pant. The thick steam collected and festered in her lungs and made it hard to breathe. How could this woman stand before her, completely clothed, and look wholly unbothered? The woman placed Kagome's robe inside of the basket and walked to a far wall. Kagome watched her carefully as the woman reached out for a pulley and rope – which Kagome had failed to notice before – and pulled gently. Suddenly, it was much brighter and the sun began to reflect off of the waters in the spring. Kagome looked up to see the material covering over the top of the hot spring cave begin to recede to one side. The steam began to lift away and funnel out of the opening above. Within a few moments the water became a degree more bearable and Kagome could breathe much easier. What an ingenious set up Inuyasha had created for himself.

The woman settled herself behind Kagome and after instructing her to soak her hair in the water the woman poured the contents of one of the vials into her hand. She began to run the oily, flowery-smelling substance through Kagome's long, dark locks. The woman chattered about Kagome's dull and weak hair and harshly reprimanded her for not taking care of such beautiful hair. "I guess, however, you don't get much time to wash and brush your hair when you're sleeping with the rats on the prison floor." The woman reasoned. Kagome internally winced. It seemed like her ex-prisoner status was going to follow her around for some time.

Kagome took interest in the woman's next task. She grabbed a small leather pouch and dumped the contents into a small wooden bowl. Kagome could identify some of the herbs and plants in the bowl but a surprising amount of them were very foreign to her. Next, she poured what looked like milk and a thick honey substance into the bowl and began to mash everything down with a stone pestle. The herbs and liquid quickly turned into a lumpy green paste that when rubbed into her skin Kagome felt the rough plant stalks exfoliating her skin away. Kagome sighed contentedly as the woman worked the paste onto her back – a feudal era spa treatment. To the woman's confusion, Kagome fervently assured the servant that she could rub the mixture onto her front by herself. The woman shrugged and allowed Kagome to stand up and quickly spread the goopy paste up all over her chest, abdomen, hips, and legs. Kagome ducked back into the water and allowed all of the goo to disintegrate and leave her feeling nothing short of squeaky-clean. The woman next grasped Kagome's face and massaged a smooth cream into her skin with her thumbs. _The woman was thorough and dedicated to her job_ Kagome thought, as the woman left no pore unattended.

Lastly the woman took a large floral painted vase full of spring water and poured it over Kagome's head. Never in her entire life had the priestess received such a luxurious bath. How long had that entire process taken? Twenty maybe even thirty minutes? The woman instructed Kagome to sit at the edge of the spring and air dry "because it was much easier on young skin" the woman explained. So Kagome sat, stark naked with her arms folded over her chest, while the woman brushed out her long, dark tresses. The water being combed from Kagome's saturated hair (now cold from the open air) rained down onto the cavern floor and splashed back up onto her butt and lower back causing her to break out in cold chills. The woman paid no mind to this and took the hair from either side of Kagome's face and pinned it around the backside of her head with a beautiful, yet simple hairpin. Lastly, she pulled out a beautiful green-patterned kimono that flattered Kagome's figure in every possible way. It was almost as if somebody knew her exactly body shape and measurements. Kagome had her suspicions but disregarded them as she twirled and admired her new clothing. A beautiful green and cream kimono, a delicate hairpin, and a thorough bath in the hot springs turned Kagome into a completely different woman. It was hard to believe that she was the same kidnapped and battered woman dragged into the palace a month and a half ago.

The woman nodded in approval and collected her basket of bath items before shooing Kagome out of the spring. The older woman escorted the younger one to her bedroom door and wished her well before bustling away down the great hall. Kagome opened the door and was quickly met with a familiar face.

"Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed your bath. You look wonderful and so much healthier." Misuzu chirped.

Kagome held the sleeve of her kimono at eye level, "I presume this had something to do with you?" Kagome inquired.

"So you like it?" the servant pried

Kagome cracked a smile; "I thought the measurements were pretty scary accurate -almost like somebody had been checking me out _too_ much. I guess I'm glad it was you and not Inuyasha."

The two women laughed and settled on Kagome's plush bed. Misuzu encouraged the woman to eat her lunch while divulging the details of yesterday's trip. She lit up as she talked about seeing Shippo again and stressed how much she'd missed the fox kit. He'd created a wonderful home and life for himself, and the young man seemed happy. Kagome had to stop herself from making the entire conversation about Shippo and moved on to the rest of the story. She decidedly left out the part about the secret barrier and the details of finding solace in the arms of their king. She _did_ however make sure to mention that he had dropped her off in the woods and made her hike up the small mountain by herself.

"What if I'd been attacked by a demon?" Kagome yelped, waving her hands in the air to demonstrate her exasperation. The dramatic action nearly caused Kagome's lunch to topple off of its tray and land on the ground.

Misuzu laughed, "Lord Inuyasha took you into human territory, no? You were completely safe hiking in the woods by yourself."

"So you're saying that there are absolutely NO demons in human territory? Because I recall traveling into human territory WITH two demons yesterday. What's to stop other demons from doing the same thing?" Kagome asked raising her eyebrow.

"Well…uh," Misuzu furrowed her brow and scratched the back of her head, "Lord Inuyasha would never stray too far so you would have been fine." Misuzu back-pedaled while grinning ear-to-ear.

It had been so long since Kagome felt that she could just relax and genuinely talk with somebody. Kagome rolled her eyes and then laughed with her friend. Kagome paused and thought: _friend._ Had she ever thought of the young moth demonness as anything more than a person that tended to her? Misuzu had shown her nothing but kindness, trust, and the light at the end of the tunnel. In any other circumstance Kagome would have labeled the woman a friend a while ago. Why was this different? Maybe it's because before she had felt Misuzu was in lieu with those keeping her prisoner. Well, technically she was as a servant to Inuyasha. Regardless, Misuzu had shown her nothing but patience and kindness, but she was still on the "bad guys'" side. But maybe it was Kagome didn't feel like a prisoner anymore… or she just had a horrible case of Stockholm's Syndrome. But maybe it was best she stay here – this is what she'd wanted after all.

Honestly speaking, what would she go home to? She had probably already been contacted several times by her employer wondering where she had gone. The police likely would have been sent to check up on her, only to find her apartment vacant. All of her bills would be overdue by now and surely late fees would be escalating by the day. Maybe since she disappeared her landlord has gone ahead and trashed out the apartment and is renting it to someone else? She would be jobless, possibly homeless, and broke. Here she had a bed, food in her belly, and money was no object it seemed (as long as she was allowed to stay in Inuyasha's wing, and who knew how long this would last. This might be some ruse to make up for the horrible mistreatment Kagome received while prisoner). Kagome wished she felt more at home and welcomed by Inuyasha and the staff. Sometimes she was treated like a chore, an oddity, or completely ignored. _Its important to remember, however,_ Kagome thought to herself _, a lot of the people who reside in this kingdom have every right to hate humans_. Like Misuzu, but she didn't hate her. She showed Kagome nothing but kindness since the moment they'd met.

"Thank you, Misuzu, for being my friend." Kagome said as she fell back on to her bed.

Misuzu opened her mouth to speak but then quickly stood up and said nothing. The silence between the two stretched until it became so awkward that Kagome internally berated herself for being so open with the demon while fidgeting her thumbs. Misuzu flashed her a quick smile before returning her focus to something that Kagome couldn't see or hear. "Shit" she heard Misuzu curse for the first time as she moved toward the door.

"I have to go," Misuzu said quickly, "It sounds like there's a lot of commotion in the court. I'll be back in a moment." She shouted as she was sprinting out of the door.

"Commotion in the court? Is Inuyasha back?" she asked the empty room. From Misuzu's reaction alone it seemed like it was something a little bigger than that.

Kagome waited many, many moments and Misuzu never returned. She busied her time by poking around her room and rifling through drawers. Decorative scrolls and paintings hung from the walls alongside mounted antique swords on plaques. The drawers and wardrobe were empty to Kagome's disappointment. Perhaps staying in Inuyasha's wing was a very temporary treat and not as permanent as she had hoped.

Misuzu still hadn't come back and although very little time had passed Kagome was restless. Now that she wasn't a prisoner the young woman was eager to snoop around and check out the rest of the palace. Not to mention this drama in the courtroom sounded more interesting than sitting around in her room all day. Who could blame her if she wanted to look around?

Kagome slowly opened her door and peaked down the long, grand hallway – not a single soul. She stealthily moved down the hall and peaked around the corner of the hallway running perpendicular to Inuyasha's wing – again she was the only person wandering around. It felt so shameful sleuthing around such a magnificent palace like this. She wasn't a thief or doing anything illegal… but she was sure Inuyasha would send her straight back to the dungeon if he knew she was meddling around and sticking her nose in palace drama.

Kagome plucked her way down the hallways that eventually all spilled out into the court. Although she had some recollection of where a few key hallways deposited, there were so many more she hadn't yet explored. She'd have to be careful to not wander too far from the areas she knew or else she risked being caught. She knew for a fact that not all who lived here were as friendly as Misuzu.

Just as Kagome was nearing the court she was forced to duck into a random room on her left when she heard quickly approaching footsteps. She quietly slid the door shut just before several sets feet rounded the corner and padded down the hall past her hideout.

"I've never seen the Lord so irate before!" whispered a frightened voice.

"Damn that Takakazu. He should know to never address the Lord in such a disrespectful manner." Said a second more annoyed voice

"Now somebody will have to clean up the court… I wish the Lord could control his temper for the sake of the rest of us." the first voice trailed off.

"I'm not touching anything belonging to that snake of a general. Have one of the newer servants clean it up. And don't let anyone else hear you say that." Said the second voice before it moved out of earshot.

Kagome pressed her ear to the sliding door curiously wanting to hear more about the apparent altercation that occurred between Inuyasha and Takakazu but the two voices were gone. She soundlessly opened the door and slipped back into the hallway. She'd have to be careful to not run into either of the two as it seemed they were both pretty fired up about something. What kind of exchange had occurred between the two? And what was in the court? By the sound of it, Inuyasha had taken something of Takakazu's and destroyed it in a fit of fury. The rational part of Kagome's brain warned her to not investigate, but her legs had other plans. She began making her way to the court to hear for herself what happened since it didn't seem Misuzu planned on coming back to her room anytime soon. Obviously the incident didn't happen behind closed doors but instead in front of many pairs of eyes. If she was lucky she'd overhear more servants talking about it and she'd be able to piece together what happened on her own.

Kagome silently tiptoed down the long wooden halls until she entered one of the corridors that ran alongside the court. What would she do if a servant caught her? They all knew her face and she wasn't dressed like a servant so she couldn't hide in the crowd. These halls that surrounded the court were bare – meant for traffic and nothing else. She couldn't hide behind anything, so she'd have to give some poor excuse about looking for Misuzu or even Inuyasha.

The hallway she stood at the mouth of opened up to the court on one side as if someone had knocked down the wall separating the court and the hall. While it created a nice open-air atmosphere, it didn't make eaves dropping easy. Kagome crept to the corner where the wall ended and pressed her body against it. She could hear several voices indistinctly murmuring in hushed tones as if they were afraid any excitable or loud talking would awake a slumbering beast of some sort. _Damn_ \- she couldn't hear from her current position. To Kagome's left was a support column half way between herself and the point where the wall began again some odd twenty feet away. The support column couldn't be more than ten feet away. If she was quick she could dart behind it and surely not get caught. Besides, nobody would be paying attention to what's going on in the corridors around the court. Kagome dug her heel into the polished wood floor and placed a firm hand on the wall next to her. She thrust herself forward from out behind the wall and in a few steps she was safely hidden behind the column. Just as expected she could just barely make out a conversation between two servants.

"Don't you think that was too far?" inquired one

"For who?" laughed another, "I would have done the same if I were the Lord"

"But general Takakazu is on the Lord's board of advisers. I can't help but wonder if the general will be as compliant now."

"He has no choice. Lord Inuyasha wouldn't hesitate to take the general's head clean off. And the general has always been tongue-in-cheek with our Lord. It's about time he was put in his place."

"I suppose you're right…"

"And here come the boys to clean this filth."

"I have no reason to stay and watch. Come, let's get back to the kitchen."

Kagome watched two servants bustle down the hall and pass the spot she'd just been standing in minutes before. She applauded herself for having the foresight to move when she did. Again, curiosity got the best of her and she decided to peek around the support to survey the scene.

The first thing she noticed was the horrified expressions on the new servants' faces. The repulsion etched into their features gave way to the copious amounts of dark red blood on the floor. Kagome's hand flew to her mouth as she watched a young boy step into the sticky dark fluid and pick up an _arm_. Her stomach lurched into her throat before she could hide behind the column again.

 _Oh my god, Inuyasha ripped off his arm_. Kagome broke out into a sweat as she felt her internal temperature soar. Even after her horrible mistreatment and the intimidation games she had to endure with Takakazu, she didn't think she could ever ask somebody to dismember the demon.

A sinister wave of sickness crawled up Kagome's throat as she watched a young servant gingerly pick up the mangled appendage. All at once she really wished she hadn't left her room and decided to head back _immediately_. She screwed her eyes shut and said a quick prayer asking the Gods to keep her from running into Inuyasha. When she left her room half an hour ago she had been secretly hoping to see his gleaming white hair and wicked golden eyes, but now a rock sat at the pit of her belly each time his name sliced through her mind. She had a flashback to the time he attacked her and threw her around his chambers like a sack of potatoes and hustled down the halls a fraction faster. Obviously Inuyasha was furious about something - so furious that he tore off the arm of his top general. Not a wise move unless you're really aching to make one hell of a statement. In her panicked state Kagome almost missed a turn she was supposed to make... or was this even the right hallway? Wandering his palace without permission or escort from a servant is probably the last thing she wanted to be caught doing by a pissed off, cursed king. Or, perhaps, did he do this to Takakazu because he was losing control... because of his curse? Was he wandering around the palace this moment; blood red eyes, sinister fangs bared like a wild animal, and Takakazu's blood covering his hand?

 _Blood..._

The gears in Kagome's mind screeched to a dead halt as she began to see drops of blood splattered on the shiny hardwood floors below but her legs just moved faster. Was she even going the right way? This palace was constructed like a damn maze and now she was just a rat stuck in it. Kagome tried to turn down corridors where the floor was blood-free, but she always ended up crossing paths with it again. She was entirely lost. Then she heard a voice - labored, sharp-tongued, and deep. Kagome wasn't sure if that voice would lead to her salvation or to her swift demise.

 _Oh no_ , she thought as she careened around a corner, _Inuyasha_.

 **SMACK**.

Kagome suddenly slammed into a body and fell back square on her butt.

* * *

Kagome's eyes fluttered open and she quickly sat up. Her room. Her bed. The mid morning light pouring into her room from the stained window. What a terrifying dream that was. The goose bumps covering her flesh were brittle and refused to smooth back into her skin. Kagome smoothed her hands down the front of her soft sleepwear and across the sheets on her bed. She was here, in this bed, in the chambers that Inuyasha had opened up for her use. What had that nightmare even been about? All she could recall was hitting something and then she woke up. She couldn't quite place her finger on it but it had certainly shaken her up. Kagome exhaled a ragged breath that she didn't realize she had locked away deep in her lungs. Breakfast was waiting on the armoire but the nice meal laid out for her had already gone cold.

 **Knock, knock.**

The unexpected rapping at her door made her jump away from the armoire and caused her to awkwardly stand in the center of the room. The door opened and an older woman stepped across the threshold, a basket of jars and intricate glass containers tucked into the crook of her arm. The woman looked hauntingly familiar to Kagome but she couldn't exactly put her finger on it.

"You're finally awake." The woman stated.

"Uh… yes. I just woke up not too long ago." Kagome said unsurely. This entire situation felt off.

"That's good to hear. I was just coming to ask if you were ready for your bath. Come along, let's get you cleaned up."

Kagome hesitated as the woman in front of her stepped out the door and out of sight. This felt too familiar, like she had _just_ heard those exact words before. But her memory was getting fuzzier by the minute – as if the further she reached to dig up the memory the further it moved away. She sighed in frustration and dismissed it as déjà vu. Maybe she'd have a clearer mind after a bath and a meal.

Kagome expertly walked through the twists and turns of the rocky pass down into the springs of the dormant volcano. Volcano? How did she know this was a volcano?

"A dormant volcano." She echoed as the she stepped into the steamy clearing.

"Indeed it is. Quite perceptive of you." The woman replied as she began to empty her basket of things.

Kagome slid her sleeping gown off of her shoulders and stepped out of it after the clothing fell to the floor. She slowly eased her way into the simmering and steamy water and relaxed against the rocky edge of the spring. She tilted her head up and watched the spring covering several stories up get pulled back by the pulley system attached to it. Once the steam had cleared up the woman assumed her position directly behind Kagome and began to thoroughly wash her hair. It wasn't long before the woman held Kagome's hair woefully and lamented the harsh treatment it'd endured. Something about "not having the ability to care for it when one is sleeping on the prison floor with rats."

This was all too familiar. This woman was familiar. This room was familiar. This situation was familiar. That's it. Kagome hadn't been dreaming – this had happened before. It happened the day before, hadn't it? Finally she dug up enough of the memory to grasp a firm hand around it. Yesterday she must have come to the spring with this familiar-looking woman before. It'd explain all the déjà vu and weird feelings she had been getting. And now that she thought about it, she'd seen Misuzu as well. The last thing she remembered was something happening - something bad – before running into something. She'd been on her way back to her room and that's when she couldn't recall anything else. Had she bumped her head or fallen ill? Kagome didn't want to admit that she was slightly bothered that she'd been in distress and nobody was there to check on her or explain what had happened. Either way, what's important is that she ended up back in her room safe and sound. Kagome would have to ask Misuzu what happened but for now she set to the task of clearing her busy mind so she could enjoy the rest of her time in Inuyasha's springs.

Kagome stepped out into the lobby of Inuyasha's wing dressed in a beautiful green pattered kimono and a swept up hairdo. She tenderly touched the beautiful pin that held her hair loosely away from her face. She walked into her room and found it undisturbed. It was about lunchtime she guessed by the way her belly grumbled so she began to snoop around her room until Misuzu brought her meal. Unfortunately, every drawer and wardrobe was bare and dusty as if it hadn't been used in ages. Kagome sighed and flopped down on her bed just as her stomach decided to speak up again.

"I suppose I'll have to go find her myself." Kagome determined as she hopped off her bed and headed out the door.

The halls were unanimated and a single soul wasn't in sight. _It must be a slow day_ , Kagome thought to herself as she approached the court. Kagome pressed herself against the wall and peeked into the court to see if she could catch a glimpse of Misuzu. Kagome scanned the faces of everybody milling about but didn't catch sight of the moth demon's large violet eyes. Kagome dashed behind the column placed in the center of the wall gap to avoid being seen. She wasn't sure if she was allowed to just walk freely about so she wasn't keen on getting caught – yet. Kagome craned her head around the column one last time to check the court and couldn't control the choked gasp that wrenched its way out of her chest. Her hand clamped down on her mouth and she quickly concealed herself behind the wooden support once more. In the center of the court was a young man, standing in a pool of blood, holding a severed arm. Kagome clutched her head as it began to pound in rhythm with her throbbing heartbeat.

 _What is going on? Why does my head hurt? Who's arm is that?_ Kagome gritted her teeth and ground her knuckles into her temples as her brain continued to scream at her, _This doesn't feel real! Something isn't right_!

Without warning the pressure lifted like blanket of thick smoke and clarity was left in its wake. Her head didn't hurt? Her mind was crystal clear – the spell was broken. Takakazu's arm had been ripped off in the heat of some argument with Inuyasha. Kagome had been sickened by the sight of his mangled arm and ran back to her room. In her panic she had gotten lost, found a trail of blood, and ran into something. From that moment she must have knocked herself unconscious and somebody had delivered her back to her room. That didn't explain why she had seen yesterday's scene right in front of her eyes just now. Kagome dared to peep and eye around the corner once more and found the court back in order. No blood and no mangled body parts lying around.

"Impossible." she breathed as she settled her trembling hands on the cool wooden column in front of her. It had to have been a flashback or a hallucination, right? She wasn't convinced.

"Hey! What are you doing here sneaking and spying around like this? Get outta here!" a grumbling man shouted at her as he threw a stray foot in her direction. Kagome forgot about her rumbling belly and walked quickly down the hallway away from the court.

Kagome took small, fast steps until she was a safe distance away from everybody else. She paused momentarily in a short corridor halfway between the court and Inuyasha's chambers. While she was alone, the young woman took the chance to lean her body against the wall and sink down to the floor next to a gargantuan map of what she could only assume was Inuyasha's kingdom. Kagome took a few reassuring breaths before trying to rationalize what she could explain as dark magic. Pools of blood and severed body parts didn't just appear and disappear in a matter of seconds. Kagome slapped a hand on either cheek – she had to pull herself together and talk to Misuzu about this. After what happened and getting caught it'd be best just to wait in her quarters until the demoness came for her.

Kagome had just stood up when she heard pounding footsteps and erratic panting approaching down the hall perpendicular to the one she occupied. The niggling pain in her temples began to fire up once again and her sudden migraine returned. Another hallucination? Risking getting caught again, she stepped out into the next corridor just in time to see a wild-eyed woman disappear into another hall. Kagome's mouth dropped and her heart leapt into her throat. There was no way. It was impossible. And yet she took off down the same hallway in pursuit of the wild-eyed woman. _This is impossible, absolutely impossible. There's no way._ Her mind spluttered, refusing to believe what she had just seen before her.

Kagome was too far behind her to catch a glimpse of her again but it was easy enough to follow the sound of her footsteps. Meanwhile, the pain in her head increased with each step she took, but there was no way Kagome could not investigate. She turned around too many corners to count and decided she was positively lost before screeching to a halt.

"What did you just say?" She heard a meek voice ask. She knew that voice. Kagome heard a throaty sound of annoyance as the only response.

Kagome took a few deep, encouraging breaths before stepping out from behind the corner and confirming her suspicions. Right in front of her, sitting on the ground was herself. Takakazu stood before her, clutching the area where his right elbow should be. His lip was pulled back into a snarl and he paid no attention to the new Kagome's intrusion. In fact, neither of them even flinched. The air from Kagome's body deflated rendering it immobile so she just stood and watched the scene unfold before her.

The Kagome before her sat up straight, "I heard what you said. What did you mean by that?" sounding much more confident than she had before.

Suddenly Kagome felt her sense of déjà vu snap into place with reality. She remembered running down hallways in attempt to get away from something before she ran into somebody. She thought it'd be Inuyasha, but Takakazu? She'd run into Takakazu yesterday and then ended up in her bed?

Takakazu's entire stony focus was now trained on the young priestess in effort to mask the brewing panic that suddenly washed over his own eyes. He grabbed her by the front of her beautiful new kimono with his remaining arm and held her up to his level with ease. She was only inches away from his heterochromatic eyes and the brutal horn that twisted away from his skin on the left side of his forehead. The pain in Kagome's head splintered and pain blossomed behind her eyes.

"Let go!" Kagome cried before launching herself at the man only to sail right through his body. She skidded across the floor, her skin screeching against the shining wooden floorboards. _I can't touch them. I can't stop him! What the hell is this? Is this not real? Am I stuck in a nightmare?_ Kagome thought as her stomach twisted into an impossibly large knot and impaled itself on the thorns inside of her chest cavity.

The other Kagome held in the air by Takakazu defiantly turned her head away from him and refused to look into his hypnotic eyes. He spat a venomous smile at her, turned and drove her into the floorboards several feet away from where Kagome lay. Blood from his open wound splattered all over the walls and the woman in front of her.

"No! Stop it!" Kagome shouted as she lifted herself up and crawled over to the struggling two, tripping over her own hands and kimono.

The other Kagome began to kick at the general and attempt to wrench his hand off of the front of her kimono. The injured demon easily pinned down the young woman's legs with his own, digging his knees directly into her femur bone causing her to cry out.

Kagome approached the two from the side and again attempted to pull Takakazu off of her reanimated self. "Get off of me!" she screamed animalistically, refusing to accept that just 24 hours ago she had been brutally overpowered by a vile man in some unknown corridor all alone. The words that came to mind were: _disgusting, vile, predator_.

Takakazu sneered at the crying Kagome under him victoriously before grabbing her face at the cheeks with his remaining hand and forcing her to look up at him.

Kagome cried from the sidelines helplessly as she watched the great general Takakazu, second in command under Inuyasha, attack her so savagely in some hidden corner of the king's palace. He wasn't even there, he wasn't even touching her in that moment and yet she couldn't fight off the feeling of his knees crushing her legs or his sharp fingers restraining her face. Kagome dragged her trembling body alongside her helpless self that remained pinned underneath Takakazu's body. Her eyes were as dull as stone and distant – she wasn't here anymore. Whatever that hellish demon was doing to her mind was taking her far, far away. Kagome watched and wept. Never in her life had she ever felt so violated, vulnerable, and helpless all at once. Her skin crawled and she just wanted to peel it all off with a sharp blade knowing Takakazu had put his hands on her.

Any hope that she would be safe inside Inuyasha's palace disintegrated as she felt Takakazu's aura rise and Kagome's fist drop from his chest where it had been frantically and powerlessly fighting him off. His red eye grew brighter, and brighter still until the vision stopped and Kagome was once again alone in the hallway. The fighting two had disappeared along with her bone-crushing migraine. The vision, hallucination, whatever it was - it was over. Now she sat isolated in some unknown part of Inuyasha's palace, in some immaculately clean, perfectly polished surface, sickeningly sterilized corridor. Who had come through here and cleaned up all of the blood that had been splattered all over the floor and wall? Had they even wondered what happened? Did it even bother them?

Kagome was suddenly overwhelmed with the after shock of her adrenaline rush and she felt every drop of blood in her body turn into cold, heavy lead. She sat there, unmoving for many moments. It could have been seconds or hours – she wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. _I'm just so… damn tired_ she thought as she let her heavy head fall back, devastated eyes now staring blankly at the ceiling. After some time the pin-prickling sensation rushing over every inch of her skin gave way to total body numbness. She couldn't cry anymore and the tears staining her puffy cheeks had dried long ago. Kagome decided that she would take back what she said earlier about wishing that Takakazu hadn't faced such an inhumane punishment.

 _What was it… What was it that I heard Takakazu say?_ Her brain sluggishly tumbled over her thoughts.

And then, a heavy hand fell onto her shoulder. She screamed uncontrollably and fought savagely to get away from the intruder until her body simply collapsed.

* * *

 **Read, follow, and review!**


	13. FYI - A Note to my Readers

Content warning: several mentions of rape

Hey all! Two things: I just wanted to clear something up IMMEDIATELY. The ending scene of chapter 12 is NOT a rape scene. I never would have imagined that it would have been taken that way by some of my readers (thank you to the comment and few messages I've received about this). The scene at the end of chapter 12 was intended to be an assault on Kagome by Takakazu, for reasons you all haven't found out yet. I did not want to leave you all for a week or two thinking that she had been raped. First, if it had been a rape scene I _absolutely_ would have inserted a trigger warning. As a rape survivor, I can attest to how harrowing reading/hearing about rape can be. I would never spring that up on you guys. Secondly, I hate how rape is just used as a plot device in so many of these stories I see on this website like it's somehow ~edgy~. It's a worn out theme and a cheap way to shock the audience. Now, if rape is included in a story and the story focuses on your protagonist, and gives a realistic view to how sexual assault wreaks havoc on a vicitm - then sure I'm all for awareness. But I will not use rape to further my plot, because I believe its a much more serious issue than a way to get some visitors to my story.

So again, thank you very much to the people who pointed this out. And I'm really sorry to those who may have been negatively effected by the way that scene could have been easily misinterpreted.

ALSO

I think I'm going to go ahead and make an update on my profile so you all know how far I am into the next chapter. So maybe I'll say I'm _% done, or a certain fraction of the way done so you all know when I'm actively here working on the story or not. Plus, giving you all these updates would guilt me into staying on track. So check my profile for updates!

And thank you all for your condolences. I'm going to finish up with:

Suicide is never the answer. Google "reasons to not kill myself". Find reasons and cling onto them. Somebody is always willing to listen.

Rape is never, _NEVER_ the victims fault. It's not a joke and it's never "deserved". Please, talk to somebody about it if you've been sexually assaulted. You are a strong survivor.

We don't deserve dogs. They're too good for us. I'll miss my wonderful dog terribly.


	14. Chapter 13

" _There is a place between_

 _good night and good morning,_

 _where I always hope we will meet" – J. Iron Word_

Chapter 13

She was running but her feet never once hit the ground. The dark, dense forest flew by in a blur of luscious deep greens and crystal clear waters. She moved impossibly fast yet she never tired once. The smell of damp moist earth stroked her airways with soothing, seductive caresses. She looked below and was swept away by the tide; drowning in golden, honey seas.

* * *

Kagome's eyes flitted open for just a moment before they quickly closed again. She was too tired and comfortable to wake up right now. She inhaled deeply as she buried her face into the plush pillow and clutched the soft, downy blankets underneath her. She groaned contentedly and nuzzled her face deeply into the furry, plush pillow. The smell of the forest lingered all around and tickled her nose, beckoning her back into dreamland. She blinked her eyes once more, just to be sure that she wasn't ready to wake up yet, when she saw a flash of slate grey. _Unfamiliar_. That intense and inviting spicy woodsy smell wasn't from dreamland – it meant Inuyasha was near by.

Kagome stopped nestling into the bed and opened her eyes. Charcoal grey bedding, her hand clutched a large, thick fur pelt – the exact one that'd kept her warm in her cell. Burgundy drapes lazily swept down around her, haphazardly hung from the four-poster bed she occupied. She was in Inuyasha's room, which meant fifteen feet behind her a dead woman was nailed to the wall. Her heart began to hammer in her chest wildly as she imagined the perpetual, screaming face of that dark priestess Ubanaki. Her gaunt eyes and slack-jawed face would be staring right down where Kagome lay. She felt the blood drain from her face as she turned to find… nothing. The wall several meters away from the foot of the bed was empty. Although there was an obvious outline where her body had been, the mummified woman was nowhere to be seen.

"I had her removed before I brought you in here." She heard a husky voice from a corner of the room. Inuyasha stood, his arms crossed, leaning against the stone wall. The impossibly bright morning light cascading into the room from each large window framing either side of his bed made it hard to see him in the contrasting dark edges of his room. His voice and body language gave away nothing, but his eyes said everything: he was intensely scanning her over, checking her, trying to figure out what had happened. Kagome turned over and sat demurely on top of Inuyasha's plush bed facing him.

"Are you going to put her back after I leave?" Kagome asked quietly.

Inuyasha flashed her a cocky grin, "Should I not? I think I've done enough for you. I open my home to you, my staff and my springs are at your disposal, and you attack me like some wild animal."

Kagome turned to him, "That was you? Why did you grab me like that?" Kagome raised her croaky voice defensively, balling her fists in her lap.

"No it's fine. Really. I didn't want thanked anyways." Inuyasha muttered.

Kagome gained her sense of composure and bent at the waist, laying her palms flat on the bedspread and let her forehead fall forward into a deep bow. "Thank you for your hospitality and help, Lord Inuyasha." She said earnestly.

She heard him step toward her and scoff, "Stop it with the groveling. I hate it."

Kagome, baffled, broke her sign of respect and looked up at him. He was now standing in the stream of sunlight pouring into his dark room. His pure white hair, still restrained in a tight ponytail, gleamed in the intense sun now. "You don't seem to have a problem with it the other 99% of the time." She pointed out.

"They," he said stressing the single-syllable and nodding his head in the direction of the palace, "are different. I am their ruler and master. I command a kingdom of tens, and thousands and demons and I demand that respect from them. You," he paused for just a moment, "now that I know who you are, are my guest. And while I do ask for the formalities and frills in front of my people, I don't give a rat's ass what you say in private." He finished. How eloquently that sentiment had started, and how quickly that had ended. Kagome rolled her eyes; maybe the old Inuyasha wasn't gone for good.

"So tell me what's going on with you." he demanded wanting to get right to the bottom of things.

"I saw something." She started. Inuyasha nodded her head urging her on, but when she didn't he just rolled his eyes. How did she explain she'd seen visions of what happened the day before? That wasn't normal. There wasn't any logical way to explain what she had witnessed without sounding insane?

"So you saw something." He restated dryly. Kagome uncomfortably fidgeted under his scrutinizing stare. How did he manage to make her feel so inept?

"Never mind. It was nothing." She quickly dismissed the subject before he could laugh at what she was about to tell him.

Suddenly he was a foot away from her, bent over to look her straight in the eyes, hands placed on the bedding in front of her, "No, tell me what you saw. That's not a good enough answer."

"I saw something that wasn't there. I saw things that happened before I was there." She fumbled trying to choose the right words. His unwavering stare was relentless so she continued talking, "Takakazu attacked me. Here. In the palace." If Inuyasha hadn't been standing so close she would have missed the wave of tension that rippled through his body.

"Are you sure?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Well, I don't remember it, is the thing. I remember running through the halls away from the court and bumping into something. And then everything went black. And then yesterday I saw myself, or at least a vision of myself, running through the halls. I saw it and followed it until I found myself in front of Takakazu. I'd heard him say something and I wanted him to explain…"

"What was it you heard?" Inuyasha asked, leaning closer to her.

"I-I don't remember. It was after I blacked out." She admitted and continued, "I wanted him to explain what he'd said. Then he attacked me. I watched him pick me up and then push me into the ground. He had me look into his eyes, and then that was it. I looked possessed, or even dead, all I know was that it wasn't normal. And then the vision ended."

"And that's when I found you." Inuyasha surmised. Kagome nodded.

"I didn't smell him anywhere around or on you and you don't seem to be injured." Inuyasha started sweeping his eyes over her again.

"It happened a few days ago." Kagome offered.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he growled as he pushed himself away and walked away from the bed.

"I don't know. I haven't had the chance?" she offered to his broad back.

"Why were you out of your room alone and around the court?" he asked.

"I heard something had happened between you and Takakazu and I wanted to check it out."

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha asked exchanging his gruff tone for a curious one.

"You and Takakazu's altercation? You ripped his damn arm off at the elbow in the center of the court and left others to clean it up. I didn't see you actually do it, but I got there just in time to watch the clean up crew arrive." She snapped. "That's why I ran from the court. I had no way of knowing if your outburst was a result of your curse so I needed to get back to my room. That's when I ran into Takakazu and he only had one arm. You know he got his blood all over me and…." Kagome ranted but ended up trailing off when she noted the way Inuyasha was spacing out, concentrating on some stone to their right. "Are you even listening?" she asked.

"Kagome." His voice was stonily even, "When did this happen?"

"Uh, the day before last." She said suddenly hyperaware of how uncomfortable she was with the way he was speaking to her.

Inuyasha quickly turned and took a few purposeful strides across the room until he was in front of her again. He pressed a hand on her forehead and began to feel around the back of her head for any lumps; Kagome was baffled.

Kagome pushed him off of her and sputtered, "What are you doing?!"

He came back like a magnet and pressed a hand to either side of her face. He said nothing as he searched her eyes for the longest ten seconds of her life.

"There hasn't been an altercation between Takakazu and I. I have never ripped off his arm." His voice was deep and raspy, "The day before last was the day we visited Miroku and Sango's grave. I was with you all day until the end, and then Takakazu was with me after I sent you home."

Inuyasha looked at her seriously now, probably wondering if she'd gone insane or bumped her head. Kagome, on the other hand, was in horrified denial. She pushed him away.

"No, no, I saw him. I saw us. He had me pinned down and he was missing and arm. He attacked me two days ago. I'd passed out afterward and somehow ended up in my bed yesterday." Kagome blubbered. Inuyasha pursed his lips. He didn't believe her.

"I'm telling you: two days ago we went to human territory together. There's no way Takakazu could have assaulted you in the palace. And he's not missing an arm." Inuyasha said as he stood up straighter. He ran a frustrated hand through his pulled back hair, instantly disheveling the perfectly placed hairs.

"I know what I saw! I watched him viciously attack me!" she shouted.

Inuyasha growled in irritation and grabbed Tessaiga from its resting place against the wall and headed toward the exit. "Fine! Then I'll go talk to the son of a bitch. I've needed to cut him down a few levels for awhile now."

"No! Please!" Kagome cried out, "Don't tell him what I told you. He'll come back after me."

"That's impossible as long as I'm here." Inuyasha quipped indignantly.

"You're not always here. If I'm right: he's obviously not afraid to attack me in public so it wouldn't matter. If you're right: it didn't happen. Please leave it alone." She pleaded.

Inuyasha stilled and seemed to consider this before setting Tessaiga down by his armor wardrobe. He turned around and rested his hands on the intricately carved bed frame located at the foot of his bed. He looked deep into her eyes with some complex, unreadable expression across his face.

"Inuyasha, what can Takakazu do? He has a large, foreboding aura about him. Surely he's powerful." She inquired.

He exhaled and let his head hang, "He can disappear in thin air and relocate to a different spot in the blink of an eye." He said.

"He can teleport?" Kagome breathed. Her brain set to the task of gathering every memory of him appearing right in front of her, or disappearing without a trace. Takakazu had been doing it since they first met out in the Ruin after those city guards had sold her to him. That still didn't explain the events of two days ago (which supposedly didn't happen).

"He's very, _very_ dangerous." Inuyasha said distantly.

"That's why you keep him as your top general?"

"Yes. That's also why I'd never tear his arm off."

 _But you did. Something caused you to._ Kagome retorted where it was safe in her head.

Inuyasha looked up at her with pursed lips as if he was weighing something on his mind. She met his stare and they together simply existed in each other's presence in silence.

"Considering what you have told me, I'm not comfortable leaving you alone to wander around the palace by yourself." He paused for a long moment. _Great,_ she thought, _he's going to lock me in my room or have a bodyguard follow me around all day_. "You're going to be spending some time with me."

"So you believe me?" Kagome asked hopefully.

"I do not know the full extent of Takakazu's abilities and I've suspected him of hiding something from me more than once." He responded, choosing his words carefully. In other words, he wanted to believe her but couldn't given his current position. She deflated like a wheezing balloon and resigned to looking at her hands twisting in her lap. For the first time that morning she realized that she was wearing a simple kosode that was much too big for her.

"For now, go to your room so you can prepare for the day. I'll have somebody bring you new clothing. You can leave my kosode there, I'll have somebody bring it back."

"Did you…?"

"No. I had Misuzu change you into what was nearest and quickly put you to bed." He said as he waited for her by the door.

Kagome slid off of the edge of the bed and padded across the room and through the draped door. She descended the few wide steps down the lobby and to her room. Upon sliding open her door she was bombarded by frantic violet eyes and worried chattering.

"How are you doing? Are you okay? I'm so sorry I wasn't there with your lunch. I brought it later than usual because the Lord and the troops returned yesterday and I'd been carried away." Misuzu bowed deeply, "I am so sorry that you wandered off and got lost. I should have been there."

"No, really it's okay" Kagome reassured the demon.

"Are you alright? I heard you had a fit. I nearly had one myself when I saw the Lord carrying you back to his room. I'd just delivered your meal when I saw it."

"What was I doing two days ago?" Kagome asked

"Two days ago? You were with Lord Inuyasha on your day trip, weren't you?"

"No… Well. I suppose." Kagome muttered. "Something isn't right, Misuzu."

Kagome explained the entire situation to Misuzu while helping her into her clothing for the day. She was adorned with a pale, floor-length kimono and an ornate piece of jewelry in her hair. Misuzu listened quietly to the story as she perfected the delicate bits of hair that were framed around her face.

"So you have the memories of this incident with the General, and you have seen it with your own eyes as a vision, yet nobody else can confirm the timeline or actual events themselves happening?" Misuzu clarified.

"Nobody can. Now you see the predicament I'm in?"

"I do. I just have a hard time imagining that the General would be so foolish as to attack somebody he knows is so special the to Lord. That's a death sentence. And Takakazu knows he cannot win since the Lord cannot die. What did he stand to gain from attacking you?"

"Because I heard something that he didn't want me to hear. I'm guessing he would have been killed for it by Inuyasha."

"But attacking you would have resulted in his death as well." Misuzu reminded her, "So its really a lose-lose situation for him, isn't it?"

Misuzu was right. Takakazu gained nothing from attacking her, or letting her get away with hearing what he'd said. So why had he chose to attack her, and how had he got away with it? How had he manipulated everyone into believing that two days ago hadn't happened? That two days ago Kagome had been with Inuyasha, or that he had never fought with Inuyasha, or had a limb ripped off? Speaking of which, was it possible for him to regrow a limb? Both Inuyasha and Misuzu assured her he still had both arms.

Kagome sighed in defeat. No matter how she spun it, it was easier to just accept that she had possibly been hallucinating. There were simply too many unknowns that would be impossible to prove. Takakazu was an intimidating man and she was almost always skittish in his presence (she had every right to be, after all). Maybe she'd eaten something or fallen ill and began to imagine things. Maybe right now she should be more worried about her health rather than playing detective in the feudal era.

"Come, my Lord is waiting." Misuzu touched Kagome's hand and gently led her to the door.

Inuyasha was waiting in the lobby at the base of the steps leading to his chambers. He jerked his chin toward the hall precariously perched over the ravine and began walking. Kagome quickly fell into step just behind his right shoulder.

"You're looking awfully casual today." She noted. He wore his usual attire, without the armor and flashy spikes. She'd seen Inuyasha dressed like he'd just left the battlefield so often that now he looked odd without it.

"There's no need to wear all of the unnecessarys inside my own home, around my own people." He retorted.

"You've worn it every time I've seen you."

"Well I was making an impression on you. I had to come off as the terrifying, evil Lord Inuyasha that spies and imposters would expect me to be." He teased.

"So you were just trying to scare me?" Kagome chewed on the inside of her cheek. What an egomaniac. Inuyasha chose to not answer so Kagome asked more questions.

"So what am I going to do today?" She asked.

"Stay within my field of vision. I'm not going to let you wander off if what you say has an ounce of truth to it."

"So I'm just going to sit and watch you work?"

"You won't have a chance to sit much with the work I do. We won a battle the other night so there's plenty to be done around here."

For the first time since her stay at the palace, Kagome was very interested to see what a King in the feudal era did.

What Kagome learned after her day shadowing Inuyasha was that he took his role very seriously, especially for someone that was, in a way, forced into it. It was evident he cared deeply about the welfare of his nation and its inhabitants. While she didn't agree with some of his tactics or methods, she could respect him as a decent leader. He was still young but he had been forced to mature far beyond his years due to circumstances outside of his control. But it was in his blood to be a great leader, being the son of a daiyoukai and a princess.

Their first task of the day was to check on soldiers who had been injured in the battle at the ambush of Shippo's home. The soldiers were not only grateful that their Lord had come to visit, but were honored that they were able to share a battlefield with him. It was evident that Inuyasha had earned great respect from the people he ruled over.

Next they sat and ate lunch in the library while Inuyasha listened to his advisers.

"My Lord, I believe it'd be wise to increase taxes in the town of Fuwa. The residents there are lazy and don't put in their fair share of work. We should have them pay more in order to put them back to work."

"My Lord, the mines haven't been fruitful and there's been a sickness that's swept over Fuwa. This could be the cause of a halt in their production."

"That's the biggest load of shit I've ever hea-"

"Send a troop to Fuwa to assess the situation. If they need medicine we'll send them medicine. If it's the mine that's causing problems then we will have to either find a new one or encourage the citizens of Fuwa to learn a new trade. We will consider the tax increase after these other options are explored."

Kagome pretended to busy herself with an ancient book on medicine while she intently listened.

"Lord Inuyasha, are you sure this human should be listening to our council on our kingdom's weakest towns?" One of the advisors turned his nose up at her.

Kagome realized she had been reading the same page for the past several minutes. She quickly put her cup to her lips and slurped her tea loudly. The advisor rolled his eyes and continued talking about his tax plan.

The duo next walked to the prison so Inuyasha could understand the current situation. Kagome found out that a few men had been caught trying to follow the troops back to the palace. They sat in a single cell, cuffed together, waiting their fate.

"What do you wish to do with the prisoners, my Lord?" The prison guard asked.

Inuyasha quickly looked back at Kagome from the corner of his eye, likely to see if she was paying attention (which she was). "We'll discuss this matter later." He said before striding out of the prison.

"You don't want me to kill them?" Kagome heard the prison guard wonder out loud before she too exited the prison.

"Inuyasha!" She called out after him.

He turned and gave her a warning glare, "Its Lord Inuyasha now."

" _Lord_ Inuyasha, do you usually just kill your prisoners?" Kagome interrogated.

"Yes, and I'll probably have these men killed as well." He said matter-of-factly.

"Why would you do that? Where's your compassion for other beings?" Kagome tried to play on his conscious.

"I do have compassion for other beings. Beings like me, beings that aren't out to kill us with their guns or slaughter our families."

"You used to be against killing humans!" Kagome shouted. The two were beginning to attract the attention of passing by servants in the yard and Inuyasha was fully aware of this.

He lowered his voice to a deathly whisper, "And now I'm a king. A king of demons. I have to do what's right for my people and what's right for my people is extinguishing any threat toward them. These people do not want to talk or make amends - they want to kill." He finished with a quick turn on his heel and walked ahead like nothing had happened.

Kagome hated to admit it, but he was right. She really couldn't find many flaws in his reasoning. These people had ambushed Shippo's apprentice and injured him, they came to Shippo's hut with intent to kill. They wanted a fight. While Kagome could understand that they were only doing what they thought was right it still could have ended up with the loss of life. She supposed when you're a rogue singular demon out to help yourself, it's easy to not pick sides. But when tens of thousands of men, women, and children depend on your actions to keep them safe it might result in more drastic measures. Maybe she would never agree, being human herself, but she could understand.

Next on the schedule: practice. Inuyasha unsheathed Tessaiga and pointed it at his opponents. Five of his finest soldiers drew their choice of weapon and stood at the ready. The largest demon, which was quite fearsome she had to add, barked a few orders and the men took off in different directions. Inuyasha seamlessly twisted and turned to meet every single one of their attacks blade for blade. Two of them swung their blades in unison and the king managed to swing his fang between the assaulting swords and his body in the breath of an inch. Another came from behind and cut his battle-axe down the center of Inuyasha's back. The dog demon gritted his teeth and knocked the two soldiers in front of him over and leapt in the air just in time to avoid the attack. This went on until the both the squadron of soldiers and their Lord sheathed their weapons and bowed to each other respectfully.

Inuyasha walked over to the spot where he'd discarded his robe of the fire rat and shouldered it back on over his kosode. He approached Kagome where she sat perched under a shady tree as he tucked his haori into his pants. He stilled and looked up at the sun.

"It's nearly time for the feast." He noted.

"Feast?"

"We won the battle so there will be a feast. You'll be eating with all of us tonight: my court, my soldiers, and myself. I'll escort you back to your room so you can get changed."

"Changed? I need to change?" She looked down at her simple kimono and touched the piece in her hair.

"You'll be wearing something a bit more suitable for a spot next to the king at the table. You are Kagome, the breaker of Ubanaki's curse…" he trailed off. Kagome flushed. He was talking about her falling in love with him. Everybody knew that they were supposed to fall in love in order to save Inuyasha. The heat rose to her cheeks knowing that everybody there tonight at the feast would be watching her every move. Was she expected to sneak romantic glances at him, or playfully touch his arm while they ate?

"Just be yourself." Inuyasha simply stated, reading her worried expression.

Inuyasha held her bedroom door open for her and she stepped inside only to be greeted by Misuzu and a gaggle of other women. Kagome didn't have a chance to ask any questions before she was pulled into the room, the door shut effectively behind her. The women immediately began poking and prodding at her clothing, hair, and face.

"Misuzu, what's going on?" Kagome asked before a woman stuck a thin finger into her mouth to check her teeth.

"We're getting you ready for the feast! Although it _is_ a celebration of the kingdom's victory, all eyes will be on you tonight." Misuzu chirped.

"Do they have to be?" Kagome groaned as a woman tugged the hairpiece from her tresses.

"Of course they do. The entire palace has been waiting for this day. We'd all given up hope before you were brought to us and we're eternally grateful. Now you and our Lord can begin courting and the curse will be broken."

"Courting?" Kagome sputtered, "We _are not_ courting each other."

"Oh? Then what did you do all day today?" Misuzu asked slyly. All the women in the room paused what they were doing, waiting on bated breath to hear what Kagome would say.

"I followed him and watched him tend to his duties all day. That's it. Some courting ritual, huh?" Kagome retorted. Misuzu decided to ignore her and instead begin arranging her outfit for the night.

When Kagome was dressed and ready a woman stepped forward with a large glass mirror. _Wow. Is that really me?_ She gaped. From head to toe: her hair was let down and left flowing down her back. The sides of her hair were swept back and a large golden hunk of jewelry held it in place. Her cheeks were kissed with a blush that accentuated her high cheekbones. Her lips were highlighted by a dark red lip paint that caused her lips to look plump and pouty. The kimono she was outfitted in was long, elegant – fit for a lady of high nobility. The haori, left untied and draped over her shoulders, is what really caught her eye. It was beautiful and red with delicate golden vines caught in wild bloom within the fabric. Although she was not, she felt like a princess and couldn't resist doing a small twirl in front of the mirror.

"You look wonderful, my lady." One of the women sighed before bowing her head ever so slightly in Kagome's direction.

"Oh that's really unnecessary. Please, call me Kagome." She embarrassedly laughed. The woman just closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Let's go, it's almost time for the celebration." Misuzu said before ushering the woman out of the door.

Inuyasha was again waiting in the lobby. He had also changed, to Kagome's surprise, into very well fit, formal attire. His armor had been exchanged for a haori that a few similarities to Kagome's, although his was black with gold outline.

"You look… nice." He said as she approached him, Misuzu at her heels.

"Thank you, you do too." She said shyly, aware of Misuzu and all of the other prying ears in her room listening to this conversation.

"Let's get going. It's about to start" he said before holding out his hand to her. Kagome gently placed her hand on his and he guided her to his side. She noticed Tessaiga resting on his hip as she assumed her position at his side. _I guess you can never be too careful, huh?_

"So," Inuyasha casually began as they walked down the long hall, "you believe I need to adopt new courting tactics, huh?" Inuyasha teased. _Oh no_. He had heard her say that. Kagome scrunched up her face and looked up at him, but he pretended not to notice and continued staring straight ahead, the ghost of a smirk on his lips. "This is something I'll have to consult with my advisors. 'How to woo Kagome'." He chuckled.

"No, really, it's okay." Kagome mumbled, her cheeks pink from more than just the blush. Since when had she turned back into an awkward, blushing teenager? _Pull yourself together, Kagome. You know how to flirt. He's hardly evening flirting; mostly teasing_. Truth is, even if she wanted to, she didn't know how to flirt with Inuyasha. There will always be a few people you come across that'll have your tongue tied, and your best one-liners forgotten. They'll make you feel plain _stupid_ in their presence because they seem so much more dashing and composed than you. Kagome prayed that Inuyasha wouldn't be one of those people. She didn't need to spend her days perpetually asking herself, "Why did I say that? You're so stupid."

"Are you ready?" He asked as they stood in the hallway where the wall stopped and opened up into the court. Kagome nodded. "Alright, just follow my lead. I will sit first, you will sit after me." And with that bit of advice the pair stepped out into the court.

To say that the court immediately silenced and everybody's eyes burned holes into her body was a fair statement. However, it didn't nearly cover or describe the intensity of which these actions occurred. A hundred mouths closed in an instant and a hundred pairs of eyes were scrutinizing every detail of her appearance. How shocking must it be though for your king to bring a human to a celebration of a victory against humans? Kagome didn't want to know what was going through everyone's' minds. She could assume most thoughts toward her were unpleasant and, considering they just came from battle, possibly violent too.

Inuyasha and Kagome walked across the court and everybody stood, faced the two, and bowed deeply. Now that their eyes were on the floor, Kagome felt that she could breathe and check out the scene. Torches and light posts had been lit all around the proximity of the court, leaving it looking open, large, and cheerful. Several tables had been pushed together to create a long eating space where nobles and decorated solidiers stood. Two other smaller rows of tables flanked the large one in the middle that was full of even more soldiers. Every food imaginable covered every surface of the table; was all of it really going to be eaten? They approached the larger, middle table and everyone remained bowed. Inuyasha took his seat at the head, and a moment later Kagome took her seat to his right. As soon as she was seated everybody stood up and also sat. To her ecstatic surprise, she found that Shippo and his apprentice were seated to Inuyasha's left just across from her.

"We are gathered tonight to celebrate another victory for this kingdom. Human's were found on demon territory, waiting to attack myself and others who accompanied me outside of the palace a few days ago." Inuyasha paused a most of the people at the table looked in her direction. "Our troops responded immediately and vanquished the threat, even though there were more humans waiting to attack at a nearby camp. Please, after our feast and drinks tonight, thank our brave soldiers and our general who led them, General Takakazu." Kagome nearly broke her neck in the processes of swinging it to scan down the table for him. She found him, a few seats down on the opposite side where she sat. His nose was stuck proudly into the air while people bowed their heads respectfully in his direction. Inuyasha finished his speech with a few sentiments about lives lost before he allowed the feast to begin.

The feast was a fury of hands grabbing food, taking large swigs of sake and rice wine, and servants clearing spaces on the table for more dishes. Kagome sat perched on her seat, picking at her food without eating much of it. She felt too uncomfortable to indulge when she knew so many people were keeping an eye trained on her. What were they waiting for? It's not like she was going to lean over and start hanging on Inuyasha in front of everybody. Out of curiosity, she peeked up at the white-haired dog demon and found he was looking at her as well.

"You aren't eating." She noted.

"Please, try to eat Kagome." He gently encouraged, "You'll get used to… this." He said waving his hand in the air, meaning the relentless attention from strangers. It was then when Kagome realized most of the people in the court had quieted down and were watching the private exchange between the Lord and his 'human curse-breaker'. She nervously settled for taking the cup in front of her and gulping the sake that was in it.

A couple of glasses of rice wine later and Kagome didn't notice the people around much. She chatted the night away with Shippo and his apprentice, while Inuyasha quietly listened. Her cheeks were rosy-pink from a mixture of the alcohol, blush, and frequent laughing she was doing while reminiscing on old memories with her fox friend. It was when both Shippo and Kagome were both pink-cheeked and teary-eyed that Inuyasha had placed a hand on top of hers. It was time to go. She had been having so much fun that the hours had flown by in a matter of minutes.

Inuyasha stood and on cue everybody stood up with him and bowed deeply once more. Everybody turning his or her eyes to the ground was helpful since Kagome was a right in that crucial place between 'really tipsy' and 'drunk'. Inuyasha held out a hand and she grasped it as she stood up and tested her legs. He continued to hold his hand out for hers to delicately lay on top of as they exited the court. As soon as they were in the hall alone Kagome loudly hiccupped. It had taken all of her concentration to not lean into him as they walked away from the court; she had a really bad habit of doing that.

Inuyasha quirked an eyebrow at her, "I don't know if I could court a lady that gets drunk so quickly."

"That's some good stuff you have." Kagome spoke with more voice inflection than normal, "In my time we have the really watered down stuff. This is the real deal." She exclaimed.

"I see you're not very talented at holding your liquor. I suppose it's not fair to judge you since you didn't eat much of your meal." Even in this dim, candle-lit hall it was easy to see her boozy, rose petal stained cheeks.

"I ate a good amount of it. Don't worry yourself about me, _your highness_." Kagome teased followed up with a horribly serious facial impression of Inuyasha.

Inuyasha's perfectly even face flinched just for a moment, "You know, I can still send you back to the prison anytime I please."

"Not a good idea. Don't you know anything about winning a woman's heart?" Kagome sassily snapped.

"I know a lot more than you'd expect. But as you said, I save that for the women." Inuyasha grinned, a fang pointing out from underneath his lip.

Kagome removed her hand from resting on top of his in a huff and stomped ahead down the grand hall over the ravine. He still liked to tease her and get underneath her skin; at least there were some things that could stand the test of time.

* * *

Kagome woke and sat up quickly later that night, frightened with a light sheen of sweat coating her forehead. That had definitely been a nightmare. It seemed she couldn't escape Takakazu even in states of unconsciousness. She put a hand on her chest in an attempt to soothe her frantically pulsing heart. Her ragged breaths shattered the silence of her dark bedroom until she heard a low voice speak up. She hadn't been aware that she was being watched.

"Bad dream?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yeah." She sighed.

"You were saying his name – Takakazu's I mean. I thought he might have gotten in here."

"It wouldn't surprise me considering he's already attacked me once."

They sat in silence for a long few moments. Her, staring out into the pitch black in the direction of his voice; him, probably able to see her heaving chest and the wild look in her eyes.

"Have you been awake this entire time?" she asked him.

"Yes. I stayed awake and watched you last night as well." He answered.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that." She said sheepishly.

"I wouldn't have been able to sleep even if I wanted to. You wasted no time in taking up my entire bed."

"I'm sorry." She said simply. She didn't have much fight in her right now.

"I was worried about you, too. I found you lost, alone, and screaming. I didn't know what had happened. I've waited 150 years for you, I can't afford to lose you so soon." He said solemnly. This was the first time he'd admitted that he'd missed her and still cared deeply for her. Of course he did and she knew this, he just wasn't very good at showing it – another quirk of Inuyasha's that managed to stand the test of time. Kagome had a feeling he was looking right into her eyes, even if she couldn't look into his. She didn't know what to say so she opted to fumble with her downy duvet instead.

"You can get some sleep now if you want. I'll be okay." She said.

"I probably won't be able to get any sleep for awhile."

She sighed, "Me either."

She then felt him drape something over her shoulders that wonderful spiced woodsy smell from this morning infiltrated her lungs. "Come." She felt his claw brush against her arm as he gave the simple command. She reached out and placed her hand in his and he helped her out of the bed. He held her hand as they slipped out of her door and down the grand hall. The bay windows that peppered the ravine hall in intervals allowed moonlight to shine in and light the way. Kagome looked first at her hand firmly grasped in his and then his fire rat robe that was draped over her shoulders. All he wore were his fire rat pants and the white kosode he typically wore under his robe. Where were they headed, him half undressed and her in pajamas?

Inuyasha winded down several corridors before he led her through a door and outside of the palace. Kagome had never been here before as it wasn't a main entrance door, but more of a side exit. Once out into the yard Inuyasha crouched down on the ground in front of her.

"Get on." He directed. Kagome tied the fire rat robe across her chest so she wouldn't lose it and carefully climbed onto his back. Within a blink they were in the air, high above the yard, and soaring over the palace wall. Inuyasha landed in a dense thicket of trees and took off running.

He started leisurely, bounding through the woods and skipping over rocks. As they progressed deeper and deeper into the forest the trees became denser, the foliage more overgrown, and the faster Inuyasha went. Kagome's hair whipped behind her and the cool night air stroked her skin with long, weightless fingers. The earth was damp as if it had just showered before their arrival. The rich, mossy ground smelled fresher and cleaner than anything she could find in her era. The crisp, fresh air was stimulating and electrified every nerve ending in her body. She felt so alive. She felt nostalgic. Kagome reached forward and pulled the cloth that bound Inuyasha's hair back and let it fly wild so it tickled the skin on her cheeks and throat. This was just like the old days. Suddenly the pair broke through the dark forest and exploded into a grassy meadow. In front of them was a full moon so big that it could of swallowed the entire night sky. They soared through the air toward it and Kagome swore they were so close she could reach out and touch its rocky, dusty surface.

Kagome didn't remember most of the trip back to the palace that night. When they landed in the meadow she had insisted getting off of his back so she could run and dance around in the illuminating moonlight. Eventually she began to tire and Inuyasha has collected her weary body in his arms and carried her home. She'd fallen asleep a short while into the trek back. The last thing she remembered was her cheek resting against his chest, watching him gaze up at the moon – his golden ocean eyes laced with moonstruck madness.


End file.
